


Forever You Will Be My World

by exoprincess



Series: Sun and Moon [2]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, M/M, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-04
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:26:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 40,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22555552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/exoprincess/pseuds/exoprincess
Summary: A group of friends were born into a world where everything was normal. They all had loving families, a great childhood and are planning ahead to live a bright future filled with their dreams being fulfilled. Despite knowing that their life is perfect, they always felt as though they were different. They always felt like something was missing…(Note: This is part 2 of the Sun and Moon series (Sequel to 'If My World Ends, I'll Follow It'). So if you haven't read part 1, then this won't make sense ^^'")
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Do Kyungsoo | D.O, Kim Jongin | Kai/Park Chanyeol
Series: Sun and Moon [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1622890
Comments: 33
Kudos: 109





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I’m back! :D Thanks for those that have been patiently waiting ^^ Keep in mind, part 2 is going to be short. It’s just like…a short sequel kind of? Cx But yeah, chapters are being written as we speak! :D But I believe in quality over quantity, so I want it to be perfect  That is why I am going to continue working on the chapters I have thus far  But know that it is coming soon! :D  
> Thank you for those that love what I write, I mean that sincerely.

Baekhyun continued staring at Kyungsoo. He was so…familiar.

“Baekhyun?” Sehun whispered from next to him.

“Hm?”

“Why do you keep staring at Kyungsoo?”

Baekhyun scoffed. Why did he? He couldn’t answer that question. “I don’t know.” He told him honestly.

(Short preview of what's to come)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys like it ^^   
> I was really nervous to upload this T.T I wanted it to perfect so I hope it shows.   
> But yeah, more chapters up soon :)

Kyungsoo’s alarm rang from the drawer where it always was. He must have forgotten to shut it off. He had woken up early and had been unable to fall back asleep. He blamed it on his nerves for today.

He reached out for the alarm, turned it off and looked back in the mirror to make sure he looked presentable. It would be his first official day at the University. Jongin and Minseok had shown him around the campus yesterday, but today would be his official first class.

After making sure he looked fine, he let out an exhale and went downstairs to grab something to eat.

“Kyungsoo?” He heard a soft voice call out.

He turned his head to see his mother in her pajamas walking over to him. She was rubbing her eyes and had her hair in disarray.

He smiled and walked over to her, “What are you doing up?”

His mother let out a small yawn, “I wanted to see you off.”

He scoffed as he kissed the top of her head, “Mom, you need to sleep.”

She pouted as she looked up at him, “Want me to make you breakfast?”

He laughed as he shook his head, “I can manage.”

She extended her hand, adjusted his glasses, and rubbed his cheek, “It’s nice to have you back home.”

He grinned wide and again kissed her head, “I need to leave soon, ok?”

He blended a fruit smoothie and packed his lunch in a small container. He gulped down the smoothie and ran out of the door to grab the public bus that would take him to school.

“Kyungsoo! Don’t forget it’s the number 5 bus!”

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes as he turned around and nodded. It doesn’t matter how old one got, parents will forever treat their children as though they were babies. Kyungsoo wasn’t a kid anymore, he just needed one more semester left of university before he would be ready to head to the workforce. But he also understood that his parents must have missed him a lot while he was away.

***

Baekhyun doodled a little sun in his notebook as he waited for his friends to come in through the door. He was seated in the middle of the classroom with seats reserved for each one of them. It was officially their last semester of school and he couldn’t be more excited. So much rigorous work and nights spent up would officially be over after this semester.

“How was work?” A voice came from his side. Chanyeol made his way towards him and sat down next to Baekhyun.

Baekhyun shrugged, “Nothing special.” Baekhyun worked in the school bookstore in the early mornings. He only worked four hour shifts and a couple days of week, which meant he was not making much. But all that money went towards school, so he supposed it was alright. His eyes went up to look over at the latter. He sent him a smile and scoffed once he looked closely at Chanyeol, “You look tired.”

Chanyeol rubbed his eyes, “I am…I had to stay up late helping my dad out in the shop.” Chanyeol’s dad owned an auto shop and the business was flourishing. That was good, but it meant that Chanyeol was always busy.

Baekhyun laughed, “That explains your ugly eye bags.”

Chanyeol let out a yawn, “Very funny Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun gave him a mischievous smirk, “I heard Jongin is in this class this semester.” He teased.

Chanyeol perked up, “Is he really?”

Baekhyun nodded, “Yup.”

For their archeology major it was required for them to take this final class to graduate. There was only one professor that taught it and both the classes he taught were full.

“Minseok told me when I saw him last night leaving campus.” Baekhyun told him. “They were both on campus last night actually.”

“Is Minseok in this class too?”

Baekhyun nodded, “Yup, good luck trying to hit on him.” Chanyeol had been crushing on Jongin for at least a year now. Sometimes it seemed like Jongin liked him back, other times it seemed it was only one sided.

Chanyeol face planted onto the desk as he ruffled his hair. “It’s going to take a miracle for me to talk to Jongin!” They knew that Minseok was extremely protective. Since Jongin was his little brother, Minseok watched over him like a hawk. And anyone that dared try to hit on his brother would earn a glare if not a talk from Minseok.

Baekhyun shrugged, “Why don’t you stay late on campus one day and ask to study with him.”

Chanyeol pouted, “You live on campus. And Jongin and Minseok only live a couple of blocks away. I live really far and I gotta help my dad. I can’t stay late!”

Baekhyun laughed as he patted his back, “Good luck.”

As if on cue, Jongdae and Minseok plopped themselves next to them, with Jongin trailing behind them.

“Hey! We’re all in the same class this semester?” Jongdae exclaimed eagerly.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol looked in their direction to grin at them, “We were just talking about you!” Baekhyun told them.

Jongdae scoffed, “Oh really?”

“Well no…not you specifically.” Baekhyun teased.

“Hey Chanyeol.” Jongin greeted with a wink.

Chanyeol suddenly smiled wide, “Hey Jongin.”

Jongin let out a giggle, Minseok sent Chanyeol a scowl. “Anyway…” Minseok began, “I think Sehun is here too right?”

“Is he?” Jongdae questioned excitedly.

They had all met in college while completing their archeology degree. Archeology was not a subject that many students wanted to major in. Therefore, all of the archeology majors had each other in at least one class. They recognized each and every face in the room. Even though everyone knew each other, each student had their own clique. Of course they all spoke to one another, but each had their own group of friends that they felt most comfortable with.

“Speaking of Sehun…” Jongin said as he gestured towards the door.

Sehun ran into the class panting heavily as he looked around the room. He immediately saw his friends and smiled wide as he made his way towards where they were sitting.

“Sehun!” Jongin exclaimed excitedly as he gestured towards a chair by them.

Sehun sat down and they all began doting on him.

“Where have you been?” Minseok asked as he ruffled his hair.

Sehun shut his eyes as he sighed, “Praying that I would get this class.” He answered.

“You’re petitioning?” Chanyeol questioned.

Sehun shook his head, “No, I was first on the wait list and luckily someone dropped last night.”

Baekhyun’s mouth dropped, “You barely got enrolled last night?”

Sehun nodded as he chuckled.

“Oh, actually a friend of ours enrolled in the class too.” Jongin added.

“Oh really? Who?” Chanyeol asked.

“He used to go to Yonsei University, but he transferred here to finish his last semester. He is our neighbor so he asked us to show him around the campus yesterday.” Minseok answered.

“Yonsei? He dropped out of Yonsei?” Jongdae asked in disbelief.

Minseok nodded, “Yeah, I was shocked too when he told us. But he has his reasons.”

Baekhyun shrugged, “Well I can’t blame him. I bet tuition is expensive.”

“He’s really cool, but shy. Be nice yeah?” Jongin told them.

Jongdae sent him a mischievous smile. “How shy?”

Their conversation was interrupted when the door opened loudly. The professor walked in, briefcase in hand. He settled himself behind the podium and placed his briefcase on it. Everyone in class perked up and looked over at him. The six friends all went to a desk and sat down.

The professor looked up and gave them all a friendly smile, “You all know my name and I know all of yours, therefore, there is no need for introductions.” His eyes darted around as he searched for someone, “Except for one person that needs one…” He looked down at his roll sheet and pouted.

Someone suddenly ran in through the door. His eyes were wide and it seemed as though he had just come back from a jog. He was letting out small pants and looked down once he saw all eyes suddenly darted to him. He cleared his throat and walked towards an empty desk. He was so embarrassed, he didn’t notice his two friends that were teasing him by making faces at him.

Baekhyun giggled at how cute the latter’s reaction was. Then he realized…he recognized this guy.

The professor suddenly cleared his throat, “Mr. Do?” He called out.

The new boy turned around, still a bit shy and red.

The professor smiled at him, “Everyone in this class knows each other and has a particular topic that made them fall in love with archeology. Would it be alright if you give us a brief introduction of yourself?”

“Oh, yes.” He wet his lips and cleared his throat, “You want me to stand by the podium or…?”

“That would be ideal.” The professor replied.

He nodded and stood in the front to face everyone. He gulped and adjusted his glasses, “I want to study more about Monalet and Solaris. It amazes me how such prosperous kingdoms hated one another with so much hatred. And then that hatred caused them to wipe each other out. I am especially interested in the last Monalet prince. He was a brave and humble leader. I love reading about him.”

“Ah yes…the last Monalet prince.” The professor remarked aloud. “He was a brilliant swordsman and their ancient scrolls recount tale upon tale of how much Monalet meant to him.” The professor looked over at the class, “Can those interested in Monalet and Solaris please raise your hands? I know my group is here.”

Six hands shot up in the air all at once, their eyes glistening. Kyungsoo looked over and recognized his two friends right away. But he also saw the stranger from yesterday. He felt a warm feeling in his chest, maybe he would get his wish of getting to know him after all.

“Please introduce yourselves to our new student.”

All six of them stood up and spoke from left to right.

“I’m Kim Minseok, this is my brother Kim Jongin. We love learning about the Monalet knights. We wish to discover more about how they used weapons and trained. We also want to know more about what the prince’s knights had to do with the fall of their kingdom.”

“I’m Park Chanyeol.”

“And I’m Kim Jongdae. We are interested in the Solaris knights. We want to know more about the knights that betrayed the kingdom. There are many theories as to why they did it, but we want to find out the exact reason why.”

“I’m Oh Sehun. I’m more interested in the lives of the kingdom’s people and the religion that they worshipped. I love to learn about their day to day lives.”

The last that spoke was a young man with bright eyes. He had a big grin on his face and brown bangs that brushed his forehead. “I’m Byun Baekhyun. I’m most interested in the Solaris prince. He was kind and ahead of his time. I think he definitely would have made the kingdom prosper if only given the chance.”

There was a scoff from the right of the class, “He had a chance. But he decided to give it all up for a Romeo and Juliet story.”

Baekhyun turned to look at the young man at the opposite end of the room. “He didn’t give it up. The scrolls reveal to us that he had every intention of bringing his kingdom forward.”

“Is that why he decided to ‘fall in love’ with the Monalet prince? They are both traitors.”

“Actually...”

Baekhyun looked over at the new student who uttered the words. He had a calm demeanor and eyes focused.

“The Monalet and Solaris prince wished to marry to bring peace to their kingdoms. As you recall, their feud began over the dead Solaris princess. Therefore, in their minds, if they married then the kingdoms could come together and be prosperous as it was supposed to happen. Do I think they rushed into it: Yes. Are they traitors: No. They had their kingdoms best intentions at heart.”

The professor clapped loudly. “Bravo Kyungsoo. This is what this class is all about. Hearing different perspectives and making new discoveries, but remember, we will never truly know what happened. The only way one can do that is to ask the Monalet or Solaris prince, but as we know, that is impossible.” The professor gestured towards the desks, “You can sit wherever you like Kyungsoo.”

Kyungsoo looked up at the small group that was also interested in the Monalet and Solaris kingdom. Jongin grinned widely and waved him over to an empty seat by them. He sent them a shy smile and walked over to them.

He sat down slowly and placed his materials on the desk.

“Hey,” A soft voice whispered from next to him.

He turned over to look into dark brown and curious eyes, “Thanks for backing me up back there. Kyungsoo right?”

Kyungsoo nodded, “Yeah, and it was nothing. I’m tired of people calling them traitors when they don’t have all of the facts. Baekhyun, right?

Baekhyun nodded, “Yeah.”

“You…you’re the guy from yesterday.”

Baekhyun giggled, turning his eyes into crescents, “I’m glad you remembered.”

Kyungsoo felt a warm feeling in his chest and sent a smile to the latter. Baekhyun was…cute.

Baekhyun suddenly found himself thinking that the other male was adorable. He had big glasses and a smile that was like a heart.

“Want to hang out with us after class? We’re probably gonna eat at the food court.”

Kyungsoo nodded, “Yeah, thanks.”

***

“Hey Kyungsoo, do you have another class today?” Chanyeol asked as they sat in the food court on campus.

Kyungsoo nodded, “Yeah, but it’s a semi-independent class. So I don’t technically need to show up.”

“Are you going to get something to eat then?” Chanyeol asked. It was strange how close they had gotten while in class. Kyungsoo had gotten along very well with all six of them right away. The professor had assigned them a group project on the first day after the lecture. Of course the seven of them all huddled together to talk about it during class. Maybe it was because Minseok and Jongin were there and that’s why he had had been able to feel so comfortable around all of them.

“I brought my own food.” Kyungsoo informed him as he took out a small Tupperware from his bag.

The rest of them all sat down after buying their meals and immediately eyed what Kyungsoo had.

“You brought your own lunch Kyungsoo?” Jongin inquired as he looked over the Tupperware.

Kyungsoo opened it, “It’s just leftovers from yesterday.” He told them.

It was a simple meal, but the way Kyungsoo made it look made it seem like one could buy it from a restaurant.

“Wow…that looks really good.” Minseok told him as he eyed his fast food. It looked like nothing when compared to Kyungsoo’s.

“Thank you, but it’s nothing really.” He said as he took out his chopsticks.

“It looks amazing!” Baekhyun complimented.

Kyungsoo felt slightly embarrassed after Baekhyun’s compliment. His eyes quirked to Sehun who was licking his lips as he looked over his food. Once his eyes met with Kyungsoo’s, he looked away embarrassed.

Kyungsoo smiled at him and held some up in his chopsticks, “Want some Sehun?”

Sehun looked up and nodded eagerly. He opened his mouth and Kyungsoo fed him. Sehun chewed happily as he bounced in his seat. The younger was so cute. Kyungsoo couldn’t resist.

“So Kyungsoo,” Jongdae began as he ate his own food, “Jongin and Minseok told us that you transferred from Yonsei?”

Kyungsoo nodded, “Yeah, I decided to finish my last semester here.”

“Why?” Chanyeol asked. He loved his university but Yonsei was known as the most prestigious in Korea.

Kyungsoo answered after he swallowed, “I was stressing more over expenses than my actual grades. And I realized that I could live at home with my parents and not have to waste so much money on an apartment.”

Chanyeol nodded as he took another bite, “That’s a good idea. I still live with my folks too.”

“Well I’m glad you decided to move here.” Baekhyun said.

Kyungsoo looked over at him and smiled, “And also…I want to go on the field trip.”

“Oh! That makes sense.” Jongdae smirked.

Kyungsoo nodded eagerly. “When I heard that the archeology program lets the students go on a weeklong field trip to the ruins of Monalet and Solaris, I had to come!”

Baekhyun’s eyes shined, “Not to mention the new cottage and altar that were discovered! It’s finally open for people to walk in.”

“My goal is to find some ancient artifact when I go. I want to already make a contribution to the Monalet and Solaris mystery.” Minseok said as he smiled eagerly.

Sehun smiled wide as he chewed, “I want to see the temples.”

“The field trip is a month from now, right?” Kyungsoo asked.

Baekhyun sighed, “Yeah…I wish it was sooner…but we still have to wait an entire month!”

“Speaking of field trip, if we don’t do well on our group project, then we can’t go on it.” Minseok pointed out.

They suddenly grew silent as they realized that Minseok was right. If the professor did not find their project to be of a satisfactory grade, then they would not be able to go on the field trip. They couldn’t miss this field trip for anything!

“It’s due a week before the field trip right? We can meet up next week after class to talk about it and work on it.” Baekhyun said.

Kyungsoo agreed quickly, “Yeah, since we only meet once a week, then we can use every time after class to work on the project.”

The class they had together only met on Mondays. That meant that they would meet once a week to work solely on the project starting next week. Hopefully that would give them enough time to get a good grade on it. And if not, then they would have to schedule more days that they could meet up with one another to get this done.

“Want to get each other’s contact info?”

They all agreed and quickly began to exchange kakao’s. They decided to make a group chat so they could discuss the project.

“Hey guys,” a sudden voice greeted.

The group looked up and saw as their friend walked towards them.

“Oh, hey!” Jongin greeted. He placed his arm on Kyungsoo’s shoulder, “Kyungsoo, you remember Taemin, right?”

Taemin sent him a small smile and wave.

Kyungsoo smiled as he nodded, “Of course. He used to go to my high school.”

Since Jongin, Minseok, and Kyungsoo were neighbors, they all went to the same schools growing up. Taemin was someone they met while at school. Kyungsoo had no idea he also went to this university.

“Hey Kyungsoo, long time no see. Did Yonsei drive you out because of the expenses?”

Kyungsoo chuckled as he nodded, “That’s exactly it.”

“Sit down.” Chanyeol gestured to the seat next to him, Taemin quickly sat down.

“Did you get into the afternoon class?” Sehun asked.

Taemin nodded, “Yeah, I wanted the morning one but it was full. I couldn’t even get on the wait list.” He pouted.

“Yeah, everyone wanted it.” Baekhyun responded.

“But, I’m still going to the field trip the same week that you all are.” He told them with a huge smile.

“That’s great!” Sehun beamed.

Taemin looked over at him and grinned.

“So, you’re an archeology major too?” Kyungsoo questioned.

Taemin nodded, “Yeah, I didn’t know you were.”

Kyungsoo grinned, “Well we’re both surprised then, huh?”

The both of them continued talking while everyone spoke in as well, except for Baekhyun. He continued staring at Kyungsoo. He was so…familiar. He couldn’t quite put his finger on why it seemed like he knew him. But every fiber of his being was yelling at him that he did. Even though he knew full well he had never seen Kyungsoo before this semester.

“Baekhyun?” Sehun whispered from next to him.

“Hm?”

“Why do you keep staring at Kyungsoo?”

Baekhyun scoffed. Why did he? He couldn’t answer that question. “I don’t know.” He told him honestly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Questions or comments?   
> Feel free to contact me on instagram: _exo_princess_ or on twitter: exoprincess456 :)


	3. Chapter 3

_“Baekhyun!” A voice shouted._

_Baekhyun opened his eyes and saw the black figure that hovered over him. The voice sounded anguished and upset but he couldn’t figure out why._

_“Baekhyun, I’m so sorry…”_

_Baekhyun didn’t recognize the voice, nor could he make out the figure, but every fiber of his being wanted to caress him. He wanted to let him know that he shouldn’t cry. Baekhyun would do anything he could to make sure he would never cry._

_He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out._

_“Shhh… you’re going to be alright.” The figure stood and suddenly another black figure stood behind him. Baekhyun suddenly felt fear and panic engulf him._

His heart began to accelerate causing him to wake up. Baekhyun sat in bed panting, with beads of sweat rolling down his face. He looked over at his digital clock, 2:43 am.

He let out a sigh as he threw himself back onto the bed. He looked up at the ceiling and pierced his lips together. He had the dream about the black figure again. Only this time, he seemed so distraught by something.

He rolled over in bed. Sometimes the dreams with the black figure were happy, but other times they were scary. He had been having these dreams for as long as he could remember. Only black figures made themselves visible and he could hear their voices, but there was never a face to any of them.

He needed sleep, he had work early the next morning and then class right after. But he couldn’t shake the feeling of panic that he felt. He shut his eyes as he willed himself to sleep. There was no reason to lose sleep over a silly nightmare.

***

Baekhyun didn’t get much sleep after the dream he had. He went to work groggy and got to class grumpy. And it was barely the second week of school! He shouldn’t be feeling like this yet, that should be for the last month of the semester. But all of that changed when Kyungsoo walked in through the door. The latter was so kind and enjoyable to be around. Baekhyun felt as though his batteries were recharged whenever he came around.

After class, the group sat together in the loud area of the library. Since it was a group project, they needed to be able to talk to one another without worrying if they were disrupting others.

“So, any ideas?” Baekhyun asked as he pulled out a notebook. He had volunteered to be the one to jot down whatever they come up with.

“I think we should first see everyone’s schedule.” Jongin said as he opened up a granola bar. 

Baekhyun nodded, “We decided to meet every Monday after class, right?”

“I think as long as we agree to meet up every time after class to work on this, then we should be fine.” Kyungsoo added.

“I think so too.” Baekhyun yawned before saying.

Chanyeol smirked, “Yes Baekhyun, sorry to bore you.” He teased.

Baekhyun let out a laugh, “No, It’s not that. I’m just tired again.”

“Oh? Stressful morning at work?”

Baekhyun shrugged, “Yeah, and another weird dream.”

“Dream?” Kyungsoo questioned.

Baekhyun nodded, “Yeah, sometimes I get these weird dreams about like black figures. And it’s weird because it’s like I know who they are, but I can never see their face. I want to ask them, but I can never speak.”

Kyungsoo’s eyes widened and his mouth went slightly ajar.

“No, it’s not weird.” Baekhyun explained as he pouted his lips outward. “Chanyeol, Jongdae, and Sehun have them too.”

Sehun giggled, “Yeah, it’s almost as if it isn’t a dream, but like a—“

“Fuzzy memory.” Jongin finished.

Sehun turned to look at him, “Uh…yeah.”

Jongin chuckled, “I have dreams like that too, and so does Minseok.”

“They’re like black figures. Sometimes they even say my name.” Minseok said as he scratched the back of his head.

Baekhyun nodded vigorously, “Yes! Sometimes there is this black figure that appears and although I can’t see his face—“ he spaced out as he thought of how this figure made him feel, “I am…really in love with him…it’s like he’s my—“

“Everything.” Kyungsoo finished as he locked eyes with Baekhyun.

Baekhyun slowly shut his mouth and tilted his head to the side as he looked back at Kyungsoo.

“It’s like this person matters more than anything else. All you want is for them to be by your side, happy and healthy.” Kyungsoo said, “I have the dreams too.”

Baekhyun felt the grin spread across his features as he felt a small blush creep up. “Yeah…” he agreed.

Kyungsoo nodded, “I know the feeling.”

Sehun gasped as he suddenly stretched out over the table they were at. “Guys! What if this is like a sign or something? You know? That we were meant to meet or something?”

Minseok rolled his eyes, “its coincidence. We dream of random black figures, so what?”

“It’s weird that’s what!” Sehun exclaimed. “Maybe, for some reason, we have to meet!”

“You’ve always been like that.” Jongdae said as he sat the younger back down in his seat. “You love believing in soulmates and other things like that huh?”

Baekhyun giggled as he looked down at the floor shyly. “I would like to think they exist.” His eyes glanced to Kyungsoo but quickly looked away.

Minseok laughed, “What’s next? Past lives are real?”

Jongdae poked his cheek, “You never know.” He teased.

Minseok swatted his hand away, “Oh shut up. We have more important things to worry about.”

Jongin nodded, “Yeah, like who my soulmate is….”

Minseok quickly sent a scowl his way, “YOU don’t need to worry about that. If you have a soulmate, I promise to kick his ass.”

Jongin scoffed as his eyes darted to Chanyeol, “I hope my soulmate can defend himself.”

Chanyeol felt sweat accumulate and he looked away. “Don’t we have a project to do?” He questioned, trying to change topic.

“Yeah, we need ideas. The project is about having us present an archeological find as if the class was a museum.” Jongdae said.

“What if we talk about our own theory as to why Monalet and Solaris were destroyed using evidence to back it up?” Kyungsoo said.

Baekhyun wrote that down, “I like that. We just need to agree on what we think it was.”

Kyungsoo looked over at him, “Why do you think the two kingdoms waged war?”

Baekhyun pouted as he thought, “I think…that they stormed on the prince’s the day of the wedding because someone snitched.”

“Who snitched?” Kyungsoo asked.

Baekhyun smirked at him, “I’m open to ideas. Who do you think snitched?”

Kyungsoo smiled back at him as he raised an eyebrow, “Someone who pretended to be something they weren’t.”

“And who is that?”

Kyungsoo shrugged, “A friend perhaps.”

Baekhyun giggled at the latter’s remarks. He liked him….he couldn’t tell why, but he felt so comfortable around him.

***

Later on that same day, everyone had to head their own way. Baekhyun headed to his dorm with Jongdae. The two were lucky to be able to be roommates.

“I’m gonna shower, how about you?” Jongdae asked.

Baekhyun sat by the window as he looked outside. The sun was extending its rays down below. The bright sun shined on his face and he let out a small sigh.

“I’ll probably just play a video game.” Baekhyun responded.

“We made good progress with the project huh?” Jongdae told him as he gathered his clothes.

Baekhyun nodded, “Yeah, we did more than I thought we would.”

Jongdae turned his head to find Baekhyun looking out the window. “You alright?” He asked.

Baekhyun scoffed, “Yeah.”

Jongdae raised an eyebrow, “You sure?”

Baekhyun let out a sigh, “You ever feel like…you’re incomplete?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like…something is missing?”

“Like…kind of like there is a piece of you missing?”

Baekhyun nodded as he looked over at him, “Yeah. Like…there is more to you than people see?”

Jongdae scoffed, “I know what you’re saying. But I believe that everyone finds themselves eventually. So I wouldn’t worry too much about it.”

Baekhyun smiled as he looked back out the window. “You’re right.”

Jongdae left him alone with his thoughts as he entered the shower. Baekhyun had always felt out of place. It was as if there was a secret about himself that not even he knew about. It wasn’t until he met his friends in University that he finally began to feel as if though he finally had people that understood him.

He was lucky to be able to have found such wonderful friends, especially Kyungsoo. For some reason, Kyungsoo made him feel the happiest and, dare he say, complete. He smiled as he thought of the latter until he began to crave a snack from the coffee shop on campus.

He had already decided to not go out anymore today. But the craving he had was so strong, he wanted that snack so bad. He scoffed, but put on some sweats and grabbed his wallet from the desk. It wouldn’t be the first nor the last time he would get such strange cravings.

He ran downstairs and headed towards the coffee shop. Luckily, it wasn’t too far from where he was. He was walking when suddenly something caught his eye.

He didn’t expect to see anyone he knew on campus. All of his friends lived off campus, except for him and Jongdae. He would have thought that they would be home if not on the bus on their way there. Kyungsoo was walking towards the coffee shop as he carried a textbook in hand.

Baekhyun grinned wide as he began to quicken his pace, “Hey!” Baekhyun greeted.

Kyungsoo didn’t usually look up when he heard, ‘hey’, but the voice he heard had him lifting up his head quickly. He saw Baekhyun waving at him and he felt a big smile spread across his lips.

Baekhyun walked up to him. Kyungsoo’s eyes shined once they locked with the elder’s, “Hey.” Kyungsoo greeted.

“What are you doing here? I thought you would’ve left already. Don’t you take the same bus as Jongin and Minseok?”

Kyungsoo nodded, “I do, but I needed to buy a textbook and missed the bus. So I need to kill time and wait for the next one.”

“Oh, well you could have called me. Jongdae and I live on campus.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“I can keep you company if you want?”

“Sure. Were you gonna get coffee?”

Baekhyun pierced his lips together as he hummed, “I was. But I suddenly don’t crave anything anymore.”

Kyungsoo chuckled, “I was only going in there so I wouldn’t be sitting alone outside.”

Baekhyun laughed, “We can sit on the grass if you want?”

The two of them found an empty spot to sit under the sun. The grass was dry and luckily wasn’t too cold. They settled in comfortably as the sun shined down on them.

“Isn’t this nice?” Baekhyun asked.

“Hm? What is?”

“The sun. I mean, sitting under it like this. It warms me up and lifts up my mood.”

Kyungsoo smiled, “I suppose so. But honestly, I prefer the colder weather.”

“It seems like you would.”

Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean?”

Baekhyun shrugged, “I don’t know. I mean when I first met you in the library, you gave off a mysterious vibe. So I would imagine you like the cold.”

Kyungsoo laughed out loud as he threw his head back. Baekhyun grinned wide as he realized he was the one responsible for that.

“It’s true!” Baekhyun exclaimed.

“The warmth suits you too Baekhyun. You’re a really bright person.”

Baekhyun raised an eyebrow, “Oh really?”

“Yeah, you have a really bright personality that draws people in.”

“Oh? Even you?”

Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow as he smirked, “Yes, even me. I’m really not that mysterious.”

Baekhyun smiled as he leaned in, “I think you are.”

Kyungsoo smirked. Was Baekhyun…flirting with him? He kind of liked it.

Baekhyun got a little closer and his hand suddenly brushed against Kyungsoo’s. They both retracted quickly, a slight pink coming onto both of their cheeks.

Baekhyun didn’t mean to touch the latter, it was an accident. He looked at Kyungsoo who now had his head down.

“Anyway,” Baekhyun said trying to lighten the sudden atmosphere, “What do you think of the weather?”

Kyungsoo burst out laughing again, the sudden awkwardness dissolving away.

“What?” Baekhyun questioned with a pouty bottom lip.

Kyungsoo shook his head, “Nothing, you’re just…” He shut his mouth and looked away, “Never mind.”

Baekhyun giggled, “You think I’m cute?”

Kyungsoo’s eyes widened as his face reddened. “I—“Yes…he did. But God! He would never admit it so bluntly! They had only known each other for a week!

Baekhyun laughed even harder as he fell back on the grass, “Your something else Kyungsoo. Calm down.”

Kyungsoo gulped and shook his head. Why wasn’t the heat from his face going away?

“Actually, I have a question for you.”

Kyungsoo hummed in response.

“Earlier in the library, you said you had those dreams too right?”

“Yeah.”

Baekhyun sat up again, “It seems you have the same feeling as I do about that black figure.”

Kyungsoo looked over at him, “It would seem so.”

“I just want to know, what do you dream about specifically?”

Kyungsoo shrugged, “It’s different each time.” He looked up at the clouds that hovered over their heads. “Sometimes that black figure holds my hand, dances with me, kiss—“, he stopped talking and gulped.

Baekhyun grinned, “Kisses you? Because sometimes the figure does that to me too.”

Kyungsoo scoffed as he looked down, “Yeah.”

“Sometimes, I feel like a piece of me is missing. Like my whole life…I’ve been waiting for something or someone.”

Kyungsoo looked up to see Baekhyun looking off into the distance, “I get that feeling too.” Kyungsoo told him. “I feel like whoever that black figure is, I have to find them. Like…something is telling me to find them.”

“I get that too! It’s going to sound strange but, sometimes I think I was born to find that person. Like that’s my purpose in life.”

Kyungsoo nodded as he agreed. He understood Baekhyun perfectly. That was also his reality. “How about now? Do you feel like you’re missing a piece?”

Baekhyun scoffed as he wet his lips, “Honestly…I feel more whole than I ever have before. And I think it might be because I am finally going to fulfill my dream of seeing Monalet and Solaris, the ruins of it anyway.”

Kyungsoo smiled as he looked away. He didn’t feel as empty either. It was true that he moved away from Yonsei because of finances. But something inside of him was telling him that he needed to move to this University. It was as if some kind of invisible force was pushing him to do it. Hopefully he would soon find out exactly why. “I look forward to seeing the ruins too.”

***

Kyungsoo arrived home shortly after Baekhyun dropped him off at the bus stop. He rode the bus home thinking about the project and what his contribution would be to it.

“How the first week at school?” his father asked over dinner.

Kyungsoo smiled at him, “It was great! Everyone is really nice.”

“Did you make new friends?”

Kyungsoo nodded, “Yes, Jongin and Minseok are actually in my class. And they introduced me to their friends.”

His parents smiled at him, “We’re glad you’re adjusting well.”

Kyungsoo was a little worried transferring from Yonsei, but he was glad that he made this decision. He had made many new friends on the very first day!

“All of the new friends I made are easy to get along with. It’s almost as if I’ve known them all of my life.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, like we got so comfortable with one another real quick. And there this was this one—“ Kyungsoo stopped himself as he thought of Baekhyun. The latter was so intriguing. He couldn’t explain why…but he wanted to know everything there was to know about him.

“One what Kyungsoo?” His father questioned.

“Oh…nothing.” Kyungsoo replied as he shook his head. “I actually have homework to finish though.” He went up to his room shortly after dinner. He worked on his schoolwork and by the time he finished, it was time to sleep. He got ready for bed and laid down. He shut his eyes and let himself be lulled to sleep…

_Kyungsoo lay on what he believed to be soft grass. It tickled the bottom of his palm and a soft breeze caressed his cheek._

_He felt a strange sensation coming from his chest area and he placed his hand on top of it. It seemed normal, there was no reason to be feeling like this. He heard a laugh and looked up to see a figure standing over him. The figure held what appeared to be a sword and swung it downwards._

_Kyungsoo’s eyes widened and he tried moving, but his body was frozen._

_Suddenly, another black figure threw himself atop of him. Kyungsoo felt his heart accelerate with fear. He didn’t want this black figure to get hurt. He would rather take the blow and have them escape. But the black figure remained firm over him, almost as if they were using their own body as a shield._

_The figure that stood seemed to smile and threw the sword down once more. Kyungsoo tried with all of his might to push the figure off, but alas, he could not move. He saw as the figure let out a yell, but kept his place._

_Kyungsoo felt his eyes swell up and again, tried to push the figure off. This guardian…was so protective over him. And Kyungsoo felt just as protective if not more._

_The sword came down one last time on the both of them…_

Kyungsoo woke up the next morning with a jolt. He was clutching onto his bedsheets tightly and his breaths were coming out heavy. He let out a sigh and pondered the same questions he had been pondering ever since he was a child: who are you? Why do I care for you so much?


	4. Chapter 4

_“Traitor!” A voice yelled out in the distance. Chanyeol did his best to try and recognize someone, but was unable to tell who the black figures were. It was almost as if there was a large group in front of him._

_“Execution!” Another voice shouted._

_What were they talking about? What execution?_

_He gasped as he saw a rock coming towards him. He tried to stand, but something was keeping him from getting up. He grunted as he looked at the crowd again. All of the black figures seemed angry, except for two. Two of the black figures seemed to be…crying?_

_He turned his head and saw a big black figure walking towards him. It carried something in its hands and Chanyeol suddenly felt terror. What was this thing about to do? His breathing accelerated and again he tried to move but to no avail._

He opened his eyes wide and let out heavy pants as a cold sweat trickled down his face. He stared up at the ceiling above him. Another dream with the black figures.

He rubbed his face with his hand. What an awful dream it was this time. He had never woken up in such a cold sweat.

A vibration from next to him startled him out of his thoughts. He turned to look at it.

[Jongdae: _What are you doing today?]_ 7:02 am

Chanyeol gulped as he responded:

[Chanyeol: _Working with my dad.]_ 7:04 am

[Jongdae: _I was hoping we could meet up and talk about the project today? I knew it was a long shot though. It’s Tuesday so I knew we all had other plans.]_ 7:10 am

[Chanyeol: _We talked all about the project last week and yesterday. We can just talk about it next week. But if it’s a big thing, then you can send it in the group chat and we can video call or something?]_ 7:13 am

[Jongdae: _lol yeah, but we been making good progress on it. I just want to add to my part and make sure everyone is cool with it. I’ll just send it in the group chat_ ] 7:17 am

Chanyeol rubbed his eyes as he sat up in bed. It was time for his day at the auto shop to begin.

***

“Dad, do you want to take a break?” Chanyeol asked as he saw his dad rubbing at his sore muscles.

“No Chanyeol, I’m fine really.” He responded.

Chanyeol’s dad was the kindest person anyone could ever meet. He was hardworking and Chanyeol looked up to him very much. Hopefully one day he would be able to achieve his dream just as his dad had.

“But, I do need to head out for a bit.”

Chanyeol nodded as he got a rag and cleaned off his hands. He had been working on a car that a customer had dropped off about an hour ago. They would be back for it tomorrow. Business was pretty slow today.

“I need to pick up a car part that we don’t have.”

“Alright, I can manage the shop while you’re gone.”

His dad smiled as he washed his hands in the sink, “I won’t be long.”

Chanyeol scoffed, “Don’t worry dad, you can take your time.”

His dad made sure he looked a bit decent before heading out to buy the part. Chanyeol took the wrench that was on the table and continued working on the car. He heard someone pull up and he listened for footsteps. He heard a car door close and realized he had a customer.

He went over to the sink to rinse off his hands and dried them with a paper towel. He turned around and saw a car parked in the lot. Chanyeol stepped out with a big grin on his face, but it disappeared once he saw who was standing by the car.

“Chanyeol?” A grinning Jongin questioned.

Chanyeol gulped and realized he looked very dirty and was wearing very old overalls accompanied with an old shirt. “Oh, hi Jongin.” He tried greeting without sounding as though he was embarrassed.

“I didn’t know you worked here.” Jongin grinned wide as he walked towards him.

“Er…” Chanyeol gulped, “Yeah, I help my dad out.”

“That’s cool. It guarantees you a job while going to school.”

Chanyeol smiled, “Yeah, I mean it helps pay for some of my school expenses, so I can’t complain.”

“Must be nice.”

Chanyeol cleared his throat, “What brings you here?”

Jongin gestured to the car behind him, “My dad wanted me to take his car to an auto shop to get an oil change.” He turned to look back at Chanyeol, “So I came to this shop because I heard good things about it.”

“Really? That’s a huge compliment, thanks.”

“Are you busy?”

Chanyeol shook his head. He was never too busy for Jongin, “No, I can do an oil change really fast.”

Jongin smiled, “Thank you.”

Chanyeol felt his heart accelerate. Why was the latter so attractive? He got his tools and began to get to work on the car. Jongin stood next to him as he worked.

“So Chanyeol…”

“Hm?”

“Do you like working here?”

“I love it! Although it leaves me exhausted.”

Jongin scoffed, “You want to be an archeologist though, right?”

Chanyeol nodded, “Yeah, but I want to help my dad for as long as I can. Until I become an archeologist, I’m gonna help him.”

“That’s really admirable.”

Chanyeol got a bit embarrassed and giggled, “Thanks.”

“I think that’s one of the many reasons why I like you.”

Chanyeol stopped what he was doing and slowly looked over to Jongin who was still looking down at the car. “Hm?”

Jongin smiled and locked eyes with him, “You’re very likable.”

“Likable…as in…?” 

“Friends, how else?” Jongin laughed.

Chanyeol swallowed the lump in his throat as he nodded, “Yeah, I knew that.”

“But seriously though, I feel happy whenever I’m with you. Ever since I met you.”

“What do you mean?”

Jongin shrugged, “I don’t know. It’s hard to explain, but for some reason when I first met you I was really comfortable around you. But also I had a small grudge for some reason.”

Chanyeol raised an eyebrow, “Grudge?”

Jongin laughed as he rubbed the back of his head, “I don’t know…it’s really strange.”

Chanyeol pierced his lips together. “I guess I understand. You know, when I first met you, I felt really happy and…relief for some reason.”

Jongin shut his eyes as he chuckled, “Relief?”

Chanyeol shrugged, “It’s weird huh? I don’t even know why.”

“It’s a good weird though.” 

Chanyeol looked over at the latter who was staring back at him. He was so stunning and there was just something about him that was so…intriguing.

“Hey Jongin?”

“Yeah?”

“Would you ever consider going on a date sometime?”

Jongin’s eyes widened and he felt his palms get sweaty. “Er…what?”

Chanyeol laughed at he put his attention back onto the car, “I mean…if you want?”

Jongin suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu over wash him. He couldn’t explain why, but he suddenly felt as though this had happened before. This conversation…it seemed as though it had been held before. Chanyeol confessing and Jongin unsure of what to answer. It made Jongin dizzy thinking about it.

Chanyeol mistook his silence for a no and he immediately waved his hand in front of his face, “Never mind. Sorry, I misread things.”

“I…wouldn’t mind.” Jongin replied embarrassed.

“Really?”

Jongin adjusted the snapback on his head and began playing with the sides of his shirt. “Yeah...I mean if you’re gonna beg…”

Chanyeol smiled as he licked the inside of his cheek. “You’re so shy. That’s one of the many reasons why I like you so much.”

Jongin bit his tongue at that that and he let out a shriek. That was what HE said! Why was Chanyeol saying it back at him? He was supposed to be smooth and cool, not the sudden embarrassed mess that he was becoming.

“Are you ok?”

Jongin shook his head, “No! I bit my tongue!”

Chanyeol laughed as he clapped his hands.

“Quit it!” Jongin shouted.

“So…where do you wanna go?”

Jongin looked over at him, “I need to tell Minseok first. Or else I won’t hear the end of it.”

“Ah…” He had completely forgotten about Minseok. “He is very protective huh?”

Jongin nodded, “Yeah, extremely protective.” He shrugged, “My mom says that it could have to do with something in his past life. Like maybe he lost someone he really cherished so now he is really protective over anyone he loves.”

Chanyeol grinned at him, “It’s good though. It means that you won’t ever get hurt.”

“Yeah…was that what you were planning on doing? Hurting me?” He teased.

“Of course not.” If anything, he also was protective of Jongin. He wanted to make sure he was always happy and comfortable no matter what. “I just want you to be happy.”

***

“Hey Minseok, are you busy?” Jongin asked as he peeked his head into his older brother’s room. He came home from the auto shop and decided that he wouldn’t hide things from Minseok; he would be honest.

Minseok looked up and smiled at him from behind the laptop. “I just finished a video call with Sehun and Jongdae.”

“Oh? About the project?”

“At first, but then we just started talking about random stuff.”

“I think we are making really good progress on it.” Jongin said.

“Me too. At this rate we’ll be done on time. We only have one more meet up before it’s due.”

Jongin nodded as he agreed. It was taking a big toll on all of them, but luckily everyone was doing the part that they were assigned. He thinks the project would have been easier to do if they had Taemin with them, but they can’t change the fact that the latter was in a different class.

“So, Minseok…” Jongin began.

Minseok perked up and shut his laptop.

“I want to tell you something.”

“What is it?”

“Well…I just…” He looked into his brother’s eyes and saw that were shining. The latter was so kind and probably the best brother anyone could ever ask for. He was protective over everyone he loved and he couldn’t bear to worry him.

“When are you going to date?” Jongin asked.

Minseok scoffed, “Me?”

Jongin nodded.

“Well…when I find the right person I guess. Why?”

“Oh…I just think you deserve someone that makes you happy.”

Minseok nodded slowly in confusion, “Alright…that’s weird but alright.”

“I wonder when I will find the right person too.”

Minseok furrowed his brows as he stood up and placed an arm around him. “When you start dating seriously, I need to meet this person. And I want to have a long conversation with them.”

Jongin smiled. He couldn’t bring himself to tell him that he liked Chanyeol, not yet. For now he would tell Chanyeol that their date would need to be delayed. But he didn’t mind. He knew that Chanyeol would wait for him. And he wasn’t willing to upset Minseok. The thought of making Minseok feel anything but happy made Jongin’s stomach churn.

“Want to go to a coffee place? We can invite Kyungsoo.”

Jongin nodded. Time spent with Minseok and Kyungsoo was time well spent.

***

_Jongin was crying hysterically as he held something in his hand. He looked up at the sky and he felt tears streaming down his face._

_The black figure in front of him walked over to him and it seemed as though it was trying to comfort him. But he pushed it away. He tried standing, but fell back down again._

_He couldn’t tell what was happening or where he was, but he saw a tree behind him and what looked like a fire next to him. The black figure suddenly grabbed onto him and Jongin fell into its arms. Jongin did his best to push away the figure again, but this time it was as if his arms were suddenly paralyzed. He couldn’t use them at all._

_The figure suddenly let him go and Jongin fell onto his hands and knees. He was having trouble breathing as he looked at the ground below. He fell to his side and let out a small breaths._

Jongin woke up to be facing his wall. Another dream? Again? He let out a heavy sigh as he flipped over in bed. Why couldn’t those dreams just leave him alone?


	5. Chapter 5

_“Jongdae? Are you alright?” A voice asked._

_Jongdae sniffled as he placed his hands over his eyes. Was he ok? He didn’t feel good. His heart felt heavy and his eyes were watery._

_“Are you thinking about them again?”_

_Jongdae gulped down the lump in his throat and looked up. A black figure hovered over him and reached out to stroke his cheek._

_“I feel guilty too. But we need to be strong.” The black figure said in a soft whisper._

_Jongdae opened his mouth, but he couldn’t bring himself to speak. His voice refused to come out._

_The black figure seemed kind and was speaking in a way that made Jongdae feel safe._

_“Jongdae?” Another figure peeked its head into the small room he was in. This figure was taller, but seemed more fragile._

_Jongdae found himself straightening up as he wiped at his eyes. He suddenly wanted to be strong. He wanted to show them both that he could be relied on and was willing to do his part to make sure that they never felt sad._

“Jongdae! We’re late! Get up!” Baekhyun shouted as he shook him awake.

Jongdae swatted Baekhyun away as he shouted, “I’m up! I’m up! Didn’t you go to work today?” He asked groggily.

Baekhyun pouted, “I wasn’t scheduled to go in today, so I slept in and the alarm didn’t go off.” He was throwing on a hoodie and ruffled his hair as he ‘brushed’ it.

“Are you serious Baekhyun?” He quickly got up and threw on the first thing he saw. They would need to skip breakfast. “What time is it?”

“Class starts in ten minutes.”

Jongdae rolled his eyes, “That isn’t that bad…”

Baekhyun’s eyebrows furrowed, “Jongdae!”

Jongdae threw on his shoes and tied them, “You just want to see Kyungsoo.”

Baekhyun’s eyes widened and he shook his head, “That isn’t true!”

“Yes it is. Everyone sees the way you look at him. Your eyes shine and you smile a lot more.”

“Alright fine, so maybe I have a small crush on him.”

Jongdae laughed, “Small? You message him all night. And he thinks you’re cute too, Jongin told me.”

Baekhyun eyes shined and he grinned wide, “Really?”

Jongdae smirked, “No, but you see how you lit up.”

Baekhyun’s mouth dropped and he hit Jongdae, throwing him off of the bed.

***

“You guys are on time. I thought for sure that you guys would be late.” Chanyeol teased as Jongdae and Baekhyun walked into class.

“We were going to be, but we somehow managed.” Jongdae told him.

Baekhyun took his seat next to Kyungsoo who looked a bit too eager to see Baekhyun.

“Sleep in?” Kyungsoo asked.

Baekhyun smiled at him, “Yeah, I didn’t have work today.”

The way their voices got high pitched and their eyes sparkled when they saw each other made Jongdae want to throw up.

“Jongdae! You’re here.” Sehun greeted as he scooted closer to him.

Jongdae nodded as he yawned, “Yeah, barely.”

“This is our last meetup before the project is due.” Minseok said as he looked over at his friends and ignored how obviously Kyungsoo and Baekhyun were flirting. 

“Yeah, but we are almost done.” Sehun said.

The professor walked in shortly after the class had settled down. He began the lecture by asking what everyone’s project was going to be about. Many people spoke of how they would be talking about advancements from ancient civilizations. Some spoke of how they would discuss to the class about how the Mayans were the first to use the number zero, another group spoke of how they would be talking about the lost civilization of Pompeii. When it finally got the group speaking about Monalet and Solaris, Chanyeol spoke up first.

“We want to talk about what we think started the war that caused the downfall of both kingdoms.”

The professor hummed in response, “Out of all their advancements, why did you chose to talk about the downfall?”

“We want to take our own idea on it.” Kyungsoo added. “By discussing what we personally think sparked the war. Since many people’s names from both kingdoms have been lost to time, including the entire royal family, we believed it would prove quite a challenge and we want to challenge ourselves using the information and facts that have been collected thus far.”

Baekhyun nodded and added, “And we thought it would be a lot of fun too.”

Kyungsoo giggled quietly as his eyes darted to Baekhyun.

“Excellent, I look forward to hearing about all of your projects next week.”

“Professor,” Someone called out as they raised their hand, “Isn’t it true that Solarians and Monalets believed that if two men put their DNA into a woman then they would conceive a child that was only biologically theirs and have no trace of the woman’s DNA?”

“Yes, that is what some scriptures show us.”

The student smiled, “Then what ‘advancements’ were you referring to earlier?”

The group looked over at the guy that asked. It was the same one that had challenged Baekhyun on the first day of class.

“Monalets also created the very first fountain known to man and Solarians made the first chandelier known to man. Not only that, but both kingdoms made irrigation canals that watered their crops and knew that a plant based diet was much healthier than meat, thus prompting them to live a majority vegan lifestyle. Of course they still ate meat though.” Kyungsoo told him.

“Not only that…” Baekhyun added, “But you chose to do your project on the beautiful architecture of ancient Rome right? Their architecture was definetly magnificent and indeed amazing. But their most famous work, the roman colosseum, was used for entertainment purposes. Entertainment that included fighting for one’s life while spectators cheered on. I agree that there were many people who were advanced for their time, but no civilization is perfect and you, as an archeology major should know that.”

The guy scoffed, “You think you’re so smart huh? Fucking fairy.”

Baekhyun laughed as he shook his head, “Now I see why you hate Solaris and Monalet so much. You can’t stand the fact that the last princes, known to be way ahead of their time and highly respected by many, were homosexual.”

“Alright guys,” The teacher interrupted before it progressed any further. “Let’s settle down now.”

They were visibly riled up, but looked away from each other when the professor spoke. That guy was known to be very homophobic. But Baekhyun couldn’t let him get the best of him. He took a long exhale as he wet his lips.

Kyungsoo noticed that Baekhyun was visibly riled up and placed his hand on top of Baekhyun’s. Baekhyun blinked and looked over at Kyungsoo who was sending him a small reassuring smile. The latter was someone that Baekhyun knew he could trust. There was something about Kyungsoo that made Baekhyun feel so safe and reassured. He sent him a smile back to try and tell him that he was alright. Kyungsoo got the message quickly and placed his hand back onto the desk and turned his head to listen to the lecture that was about to begin. Baekhyun scoffed and turned to look at the professor.

***

“So what do you guys think so far?” Minseok questioned as he placed his laptop back in front of him.

“I like it.” Chanyeol responded. “I think what you said is really going to impress the class.”

Minseok smiled and stared back at his laptop, “I think we’re practically done then.” He looked up at the rest of the group. “By when can you guys have your parts done?”

“We should have them all done by tomorrow. That way we can look over the google doc and slides to fix last minute mistakes.”

“I think the PowerPoint is going to the best part.” Sehun commented as he looked it over. They had split up the project into parts and everyone had a certain role. Some of them worked on the PowerPoint, while others worked on the thirty page paper that was to be accompanied alongside it. After tomorrow, they would look over it to make sure that it was flawless before submitting it electronically.

“I think we’re done, unless you guys have something else you want to talk about?” Jongdae questioned.

Chanyeol shook his head, “I think I’m good. But I have to go now. My dad messaged me that he needs help.”

After they decided that they would need to have all of their parts done by tomorrow, most of them decided to leave. Many of them had plans that they couldn’t miss. Kyungsoo had an eye appointment, while Baekhyun had to visit another professor’s office hours. The rest all had other things they couldn’t miss.

Sehun pouted as he saw everyone stand up. “Does that mean that you guys are all busy?”

Jongdae laughed as he looked over at the younger, “I guess so.”

“I need someone to come with me somewhere.”

Minseok raised an eyebrow, “And where is that?”

Sehun beamed, “I saw a sale on jeans the other day.”

Jongdae snickered. “So you need someone to accompany you to the clothing store?”

Sehun nodded, “Yes, going alone is no fun.”

Minseok looked over at Jongdae who was also staring back at him. It was as if he could read his mind. Jongdae’s eyebrow was raised and Minseok felt that he had seen it so many times before. He knew exactly what Jongdae was thinking. They looked back at Sehun and the younger didn’t need them to speak to know what they were about to say. It was as if he had known them for years, that’s how well he felt he knew them.

He smiled wide as he stood up, “Let’s go.” He exclaimed happily.

***

“Thanks for coming with me.” Sehun told them happily as he walked with bags by his side. Surprisingly, Sehun did not take long to pick out his pants. They expected the younger to take a while picking out whatever it was he wanted. But then again, there was not fitting rooms. He could only eyeball what he thought would fit and then purchase it. Luckily they had a 7 day return policy so if they didn’t fit, then he could go back and exchange them.

“Don’t mention it Sehun.” Jongdae said as he walked next to them.

“Are you guy’s hungry?” Minseok asked as he eyed some food places they walked by.

Now that he mentioned it, they both did feel a little hungry.

“What do you guys want to eat?”

“I don’t really like meat.” Sehun and Jongdae said in unison. They both blinked as they looked at one another with wide eyes.

Minseok let out a loud chuckle as he looked at their stunned faces. They were both staring at one another and then burst out laughing as well.

“I didn’t know you didn’t like meat.”

Sehun shrugged, “I’ll eat it, but I prefer not to.”

“Same here.”

Minseok raised an eyebrow as he sent them a grin, “I guess that makes three of us then.”

The both of them looked over at the elder, “You don’t like meat either?”

“I do like it, but I prefer something else.”

They walked around the shopping plaza until they finally settled on a restaurant that had vegetarian options. They walked in and the hostess placed them at a table by the wall. They all squeezed in and looked over the menu.

“What are you guys getting?” Sehun asked.

“Honestly…I want the vegetable stew.”

Sehun’s eyes beamed, “I was eyeing that one too!”

Minseok raised in eyebrow in curiosity. “How is it that we are all eyeing the same thing?”

They shut their menus and they each ordered a vegetable stew. They had small talk and took a sip of their drinks. They all felt comfortable with each other like this. They felt safe around one another. They had met in university, but they felt as though they were brothers. Even they were surprised with how quickly their bond grew.

Their stews came in practically no time at all. Their mouths watered once the waitress set it down in front of them. They each took a spoon and began digging in.

“This is really good!” Jongdae exclaimed as he took another sip.

Minseok nodded, “Yeah, I have always loved vegetable stew. As a kid, I would beg my mom to make it every day.”

“You know, I heard that if you enjoy something a lot but can’t explain why, then that means that in your past life you used to do it.” Sehun said.

Minseok rolled his eyes. He was never one for superstitions or religion. He didn’t know what happened after life ended, but he highly doubted he would come back as a reincarnation.

Jongdae was a little more open minded about it. But he did tend to lean a bit more on the non-believer side. He just couldn’t comprehend how that could even be remotely possible. But, he would never judge someone who did believe such things. Sehun was definetly one of them.

“It just means you like vegetables.” Minseok said, “There is no deep meaning.”

“Sure, then explain why I prefer to sleep on the floor than on my bed. I think I was a peasant in my past life.” Sehun said proudly.

Jongdae smiled, “Minseok likes to swim. Jongin told me that he would jump into the pool with no hesitation as a kid even before he could swim. How do you explain that Sehun?”

Sehun tapped on his chin and opened his mouth, “Maybe Minseok was a professional swimmer but his life got cut short. Minseok, do you have dreams of swimming?”

Minseok let out a sigh as he rubbed his temples, “I have dreams about those black figures remember? Does that make me a demon?”

“No!” Sehun exclaimed with a laugh, “Of course not. I have those dreams too.”

“Actually, now that you mention it, I had a dream about those black figures last night.” Jongdae said as he pierced his lips together.

“Really? What about?”

Jongdae did his best to remember what had happened. But he was drawing a blank. All he could remember was that he was…crying? But even then, he wasn’t sure if that was right.

“Baekhyun woke me up abruptly this morning, so I can’t really remember.”

Minseok scoffed, “I think it’s interesting that our group of friends are the only ones that have the dreams about those black figures.”

“Yeah…I think it has to do with our past lives.”

Minseok scowled at Sehun, “No, it probably has a scientific explanation, it just hasn’t been found yet.”

“I just think it’s strange that I have never met anyone other than you guys that have those dreams. And believe me, I have met A LOT of people.” Sehun told him.

Jongdae snickered, “Your imaginary friends don’t count Sehun.”

They ate like that for the rest of the time. They talked and joked with another. It felt serene and safe being together like this. One could say it almost felt nostalgic.

***

_The black figure tossed and turned in the cot as it violently shook. It screamed in agony and it seemed as though tears streamed down his face._

_Minseok felt his own tears accumulate and he ran towards the figure. He hugged onto him tight and only then did the figure relax. It leaned into his touch and placed its head on his shoulder. Minseok didn’t feel fear, on the contrary, he felt protective. No matter what happened, he knew he needed to keep it safe and calm. He rubbed the back of its head and the figure let out a sniffle._

_“It’s all my fault…”_

_Minseok shook his head and the figure clutched him tighter, “It is! It’s my fault!”_

_Minseok separated from it and did his best to look it in the face. He wanted so badly to see what it looked like, but it was useless. It was just a tall black figure that he held in his arms._

_“I should have told my mother from the very beginning and asked for her guidance. Instead, I married them on my own. I thought I could handle such responsibility…I’m an idiot!” The figure again wept in his arms and Minseok cradled it. He would keep it safe…he would do everything in his power to cheer it up._

_A second figure came from behind him and placed his hand on top of the figure that Minseok had in his arms. This figure was good too. Minseok could trust him. This figure was about his height._

_“It isn’t your fault.” The figure said._

_What wasn’t its fault? Minseok wondered._

_“We all thought what we were doing was right.”_

_What were they doing?_

_“I promise, everything is alright Se—“_

Minseok woke up with sweat accumulated on his forehead. He sat up and realized that he must have fallen asleep on his desk again. He wiped at his eyes and at the sweat. That dream was…intense.

He shook his head at the realization that this time…the figure was about to say a name. He let out a sigh as he walked towards his bed. This is ridiculous! They were just dreams! No reason to get worked up over them.


	6. Chapter 6

_The black figure walked towards Sehun as it held something in its hand. Sehun trembled in fear and his lip quivered. The figure he saw this time wasn’t like the usual friendly ones he was accustomed to seeing. This one made him feel fear. He felt terrified…almost as if his life was in danger._

_“He fell in love with you…”_

_Fell in love? What was it talking about?_

_Sehun shook his head as he suddenly felt something under his fingertips. He felt a grainy substance and realized that it was dirt._

_The figure leaned in close to him. Sehun felt more tears come down his face as he felt a breath hit him against the ear. He shut his eyes and his hands went forward._

_Why wasn’t he waking up? Wake up! He was terrified beyond belief…WAKE UP!_

Sehun woke up as his phone vibrated loudly next to him. He had another dream again. This one was…awful.

He wet his lips and rubbed his face just before reaching out to grab his phone. He was supposed to take a short nap just before his class started, but his relaxing time had turned into a nightmare…literally. He had decided to fall asleep in the library on campus, which wasn’t the most comfortable thing to do, but beggars can’t be choosers.

The group chat was very active due to the fact that the project was due next week. Sehun knew that his part was already done, but he would check later today to make sure that there were no further edits to be made to the project. He was so drained by this assignment but knew that it would be worth it in the end. After next week, they would be going on a field trip to the ruins and this is what kept him going.

He let out a yawn as he looked over the time. It was about time he headed to class. He stood up and adjusted his snapback.

***

Taemin waited outside Sehun’s class twiddling his thumbs. He gulped and looked at the door that he knew was set to open any second now. Ever since he had first laid eyes on Sehun he had thought he was handsome. But he never had the guts to tell him. Sehun was like a music box. Beautiful on the outside, but even more so on the inside.

He was introduced to him by Jongin and wow…had he been shocked by the latter’s gaze and smile. Everyone knew about his crush on Sehun except for…Sehun himself.

He would try to make a move today. He had asked Sehun what class he had and when Sehun told him which one, he decided to ‘coincidentally’ bump into him. It was foolproof.

The door suddenly swung open with a swarm of students practically sprinting out. Taemin looked over each one and finally found the one he was looking for.

Sehun was wearing a black snapback with a plaid shirt and skinny jeans. He had his head down and was piercing his lips together, a habit that he did without noticing.

“Sehun!” Taemin called out as he caught up to him.

Sehun turned around and sent him a wide grin as he looked him over, “Hey, what are you doing here?”

Taemin grinned even wider, “I was walking by and saw you come out of class.” Big lie, but Sehun didn’t need to know that.

“Oh ok. Do you have another class today?”

Taemin shook his head, “No I don’t. Do you?”

“No, I need to go home now and work on the project.”

“Ah yeah…” Taemin began. “How about we just take a small break before working on it? Once I get home I know I’m only going to be focusing on it.”

Sehun yawned as he stretched, “I’m so tired of it. I want it to be Monday afternoon already.”

“That way you’ll be done with it?”

Sehun nodded, “Exactly.”

“Come on, let’s just chill for a bit. We can go wherever you want.”

Sehun pouted as he thought. He knew he needed to work on that project as soon as possible, it was due in four days. But he supposed he could sacrifice his weekend and work on the project in exchange for an outing with Taemin today. “Alright.” He responded. “Today I’ll take a break from the project and work on it all Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.”

Taemin grinned in glee at his answer. This would be his first time that he could have Sehun all to himself.

***

Sehun took a shot of the soju that he and Taemin had decided to have. They contemplated on where to go and ultimately decided on heading to a chicken and beer place.

Taemin shook his head as he smiled wide, “I needed that.”

Sehun giggled, “Me too.” This project had done nothing but stress him out. It was nice to be able to use some time to unwind. He knew that the group chat would be blowing up, so he even put his phone on silent so that it wouldn’t disturb him.

“How’s the project going?” Taemin asked.

Sehun shrugged, “Luckily I got a good group.”

Taemin smiled, “I got Jackson, Jisoo, Jiwon, and Taeyong in my group. So I can’t complain.”

Sehun nodded as his eyes widened, “They’re great! I know that your project is going to be amazing.”

Taemin scoffed as he picked up a drumstick and began nibbling on it.

“You know Taemin,” Sehun began, “Why haven’t I ever noticed you before?”

Taemin looked up from his plate and locked eyes with Sehun. “Hm?”

“I mean…we’ve never hung out alone. Heck! I barely met Kyungsoo and I have been alone with him a couple of times already.”

Taemin chewed slowly as it suddenly dawned on him that Sehun must be feeling a little buzzed. How much shots had he had? He wasn’t keeping track.

“You know…” Sehun pointed a chopstick in his direction and wiggled it around, “You and I should do this more often. Sometimes I feel you avoid me.”

Taemin let out a laugh as he shook his head. He only avoided him because of the crush he had on him. He had a tendency to get shy around him.

“I wouldn’t say that.”

Sehun tilted his head to the side, “What would you call it then?”

Taemin stared at him, eyes narrow. He suddenly felt brave. Was it the alcohol? It might be.

“I would call it…being cautious.”

“Cautious?”

Taemin nodded, “I’ve been protective of you ever since I met you.”

“You know…when I first met you…” Sehun laid back in his seat as he poured himself another shot. “I was happy…like really happy. But also I wanted to apologize.”

Taemin raised an eyebrow, “Apologize?”

Sehun nodded as he took another swig of alcohol, “Yeah, but I don’t know why.” He looked into his eyes, “Sometimes I look at you and it feels like…I’ve hurt you.”

Taemin shook his head in denial, “Sehun, you never hurt me. Total opposite actually.”

He reached out his hand and placed it atop of Sehun’s. Sehun didn’t pull away.

“You make me happy.”

Sehun hiccupped as he looked down at the hands.

“Sehun,” Taemin suddenly felt a burst of confidence. It was now or never. “I li—“

“Are you guys doing well?” A server cut in.

Taemin kept his eyes on Sehun as he looked over at the server. His eyes suddenly widened and he pulled his hand away from Taemin quickly.

Taemin furrowed his brows and looked over at the server. He had a kind smile with eyes that curled upwards. His black hair was slicked upwards and his eyes were locked on Sehun’s. Taemin’s eyes slowly traveled down to the nametag: _Jaebum_ it read.

“Err…we’re fine.” Sehun stuttered.

“Let me know if you need anything.” Jaebum responded. He walked off to the table next to them. Sehun’s eyes stayed on him.

“Sehun?” Taemin questioned.

Sehun looked back at him and smiled, “He’s handsome.” He whispered.

Taemin pierced his lips together and decided not finish what he was about to say. “Yeah.” He lied, “He is.”

***

_The black figure laughed maniacally as he threw his head back. Taemin watched in horror as the figure seemed to be losing it. Taemin was scared, but at the same time felt anger and sadness. He didn’t understand why._

_“We are the prophecy.” The figure muttered._

_What is he talking about?_

_“We are the keys to making this happen.”_

_Keys? Make what happen? Taemin had so many questions for this figure, but he couldn’t find his voice. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t bring himself to speak._

_Taemin suddenly felt a protective instinct take him over. He would fight off this figure if it meant that whatever it was he was protecting would be safe._

_“Taemin? The figure questioned._

Taemin woke up in a panic in his bed. He let out a sigh as he wet his lips. Another stupid dream. He was so sick and tired of them. Why couldn’t he be normal? Why couldn’t he have normal dreams in color like everyone else?

***

Baekhyun walked through the library as he searched for a book he needed. If he could find the book that focuses on how Solarians were known for loving the earth, then he would finally have a reliable source to back up his claims on the PowerPoint.

He walked up and down the aisle until his eyes finally landed on the book he was looking for. He smiled to himself as he grabbed it. He was about to walk out, when someone caught his eye by one of the cubicles. He was hunched over with a beanie pressed to his head. His head was coming forward as if he was falling asleep.

Baekhyun grinned wider as he approached the guy at the cubicle. He leaned down next to his ear and gently blew into it.

Kyungsoo’s eyes opened wide as he shot his head up. He turned his head to find Baekhyun giggling next to him. He let out a sigh as he rested his head on his arms.

“Did I startle you?”

Kyungsoo scoffed as he buried his face in his hands, “Yeah.” He replied.

“You ok?”

He yawned as he nodded, “I haven’t been able to sleep.”

“Oh…well you should go home and rest.”

Kyungsoo shook his head, “My Wi-Fi went out. So I have to come here and finish up my part of the project.”

Baekhyun’s eyes softened as he placed his hand on Kyungsoo’s back. The latter looked so helpless like this. He bet that Kyungsoo was exhausted and he wanted nothing more than to rest. Baekhyun wanted to comfort him and tell him that soon they could all have a well-deserved rest.

“My other class had a big test this week which is why I’m so behind on my part.”

Baekhyun leaned down to put his face by Kyungsoo’s, “I live on campus. I wouldn’t mind if you came over and worked on it there. We can work on it together.”

Kyungsoo turned his head to face Baekhyun. Close up like this, Kyungsoo realized why so many people stopped to gawk at him. Baekhyun was stunning.

“You wouldn’t mind?”

Baekhyun shook his head, “No, we can stay for as long as you need. But if you want to take a nap first, I wouldn’t mind.”

Kyungsoo sent a groggy smile his way as he sat up and lifted up his books and laptop. His entire weekend would be spent working on the project.

“I still have to edit my part, so we can work on it together.”

Kyungsoo stood up and nodded, “Alright.”

They both made their way out of the library and towards the dormitories. Kyungsoo had never actually been inside Baekhyun’s home, but he had always been curious. The dormitories at Yonsei were much too expensive, which lead to him needing to rent a room from an apartment nearby. So he had never been inside a dorm in general.

Baekhyun opened the door to his dorm after unlocking it. They both walked in and Kyungsoo noticed that it was small. He wasn’t be too surprised though, it was supposed to be big enough for only two people to live in.

“Jongdae isn’t here. It was his mom’s birthday today so he want back home.”

Kyungsoo yawned as he looked back at Baekhyun, “His mom’s birthday?”

Baekhyun nodded, “Yeah, but he should be back by Sunday.” They made their way to the room and Kyungsoo noticed the two beds inside. One was Jongdae’s while the other was Baekhyun’s. It was easy to tell which one was Baekhyun’s.

Baekhyun went over to his bed and picked up the laptop, notes, and pencils and placed them on the desk next to the bed.

“You can lay on the bed if you want.”

Kyungsoo looked over at him, eyes wide. “I couldn’t—“

Baekhyun scoffed, “I insist. You look awful. You really need a nap.”

Kyungsoo smiled as he sat on the bed and let his body fall on it. He shut his eyes and realized…this felt nice. He wanted so badly to take a nap and then wake up energized and ready to work.

“You hungry? I have leftovers from yesterday.”

Kyungsoo shook his head, “No, I’m fine.”

He felt his body sinking into the then bed and he let out a sigh as he flipped over. He was so exhausted…

As he drifted to sleep, he began to see a black figure emerge and his eyes shot open. He was reminded why he had been trouble sleeping. He sat up and shook his head, “You have any coffee?”

Baekhyun laughed as he sat next to him, “No coffee for you.” He said. “Take a nap. It’s alright, really. And if you want to stay over tonight, then that’s cool too.”

Kyungsoo shook his head, “I can’t sleep.”

“Kyungsoo, everyone understands that you were busy this week. Use this day to rest and then tomorrow and Sunday you can work on your part.”

Kyungsoo sighed, “It’s not because of the project.”

Baekhyun analyzed Kyungsoo’s face and he seemed…worried. Almost as if he was scared of something. There was something underlying in the way that Kyungsoo said it. Baekhyun grew concerned. He wanted to help. He couldn’t understand why…but he wanted nothing more than for Kyungsoo to be happy.

“What’s wrong?”

Kyungsoo’s face was to the floor as he bit his lip. Could he tell Baekhyun? Would he understand?

“Kyungsoo,” Baekhyun whispered. “I want to help you. Please let me.” He meant that. He meant that with every fiber of his being and Kyungsoo knew it.

“I—I been having nightmares.”

“Nightmares?”

Kyungsoo nodded, “They scare me…a lot.”

Baekhyun placed his arm around Kyungsoo and pulled him in gently. Kyungsoo wasn’t one to let anyone touch him like this. But he let himself lean into Baekhyun’s touch and placed his head in the crook of Baekhyun’s neck.

“Is it about those black figures?”

Kyungsoo swallowed and then nodded slowly.

“I have nightmares of the black figures too. But sometimes they are nice too.”

“Same with me, but lately they have been scary. It’s like…one of them wants to kill me.”

Baekhyun looked down at Kyungsoo as he pulled him in closer. “I promise that if I see you having a nightmare, then I'll wake you up. But you need to sleep Kyungsoo. I’m worried about you.”

Kyungsoo felt his heart skip a beat at those words. “You are?”

Baekhyun nodded, “Yeah. I mean…honestly, I just want to make sure that you’re ok.”

Kyungsoo parted from him and looked him in the eyes. Baekhyun suddenly blushed and looked away. “I mean…all of my friends, you know?”

Kyungsoo smiled as he blinked. “Me too.” He said, “But about you.”

Baekhyun looked back and gulped, “Kyungsoo, would you ever want to hang out? Like…just the two of us?”

“Like a date?”

“Er…sure, if you want to call it that.”

“I’d like that.”

“Really?”

“Sure.”

“But after we come back from our field trip and after you take a nap.”

Kyungsoo giggled as he nodded, “Alright, I’ll take a nap. If I’m having a nightmare, you promise to wake me up?”

“I swear.”

Kyungsoo yawned. Baekhyun took that as a cue to gently push him onto the bed.

“Hey Baekhyun?”

“Yeah?”

“This might be weird but, would you mind staying here? Until I fall asleep?”

Baekhyun smiled as he laid next to him, “I don’t mind.”

Kyungsoo smiled and reached out his hand to take Baekhyun’s. He shut his eyes as he got comfortable.

Baekhyun’s eyes widened in surprise, but he didn’t mind holding Kyungsoo’s hand. It felt nice to know that Kyungsoo was comfortable with him. It almost felt as if this was déjà vu. He moved Kyungsoo’s hair from his face and let out a gentle hum.

Kyungsoo let out a final small yawn as he was lulled to sleep by Baekhyun’s humming. He couldn’t explain why, but this felt like it had happened before despite it being his first time laying in a bed with Baekhyun. 

***

That weekend was probably the longest weekend for the entire group. Sleep was replaced with long nights working on the project. And good meals were replaced with quick frozen food that could be microwaved in seconds.

They all stayed in their rooms working nonstop. Now Monday morning had come and they were next to finally show the class all of their hard work.

“Are you nervous?” Baekhyun asked as they watched the other presentations in front of them.

Kyungsoo shook his head, “No, not really.”

“I am.” Baekhyun told him from next to him.

It was the day that they were going to present their project to the class. They had submitted their written report earlier this morning after sleepless nights of trying to perfect it. Now it was time to present their PowerPoint.

Everyone in the group was looking over their notes to make sure that they did not mess anything up. If the teacher found their presentation to be unsatisfactory, they would be unable to go on the field trip next week. They were not about to let that happen. Each of them had rehearsed over and over again to make sure that they would not mess up.

Kyungsoo nudged Baekhyun softly as he whispered, “We’ll do fine.”

Baekhyun let out a soft exhale as he saw the group in front of them presenting. They looked confident and he hoped his group would also reflect that.

The class erupted in applause once the presentation was over.

“Bravo!” The teacher congratulated. “That was wonderful.” He said as he wrote something down on his grade sheet.

“”Next is my…Monalet and Solaris group.” He said as his eyes darted over to them.

The group suddenly felt sweat accumulate on their palms and their throat go dry. They all stood up and walked towards the podium. Minseok logged into his account to pull up the PowerPoint.

Kyungsoo had never felt so nervous before. He had a feeling that if he failed this, then he would forever feel incomplete. It was a strange feeling to have, but he couldn’t shake it off. Something told him that his entire life had lead up to this moment, and he needed to do well.

Baekhyun gave Kyungsoo’s hand a gentle squeeze and he turned to look at him. Baekhyun was so kind and warm. He was always able to give Kyungsoo strength. He smiled at him and they both faced the class together.

“Hello class.” Chanyeol greeted as he sent them a wide smile, “Our presentation has to do with Monalet and Solaris. And why we believe was the reason behind their downfall.”

“We believe that the princes were killed on their wedding day. We came to this conclusion because their bodies were found in the cottage with the Solaris staff and Monalet sash already signed by them.” Jongin added.

“In addition to that, there is substantial evidence to suggest that someone found out about the wedding and told the kingdoms about it. We believe that these chain of events caused the war that broke out, wiping out a majority of citizens from both kingdoms.” Jongdae finished as Minseok clicked to go onto the next slide.

“If you pay us close attention, we will prove to you why our theory has so much merit.”


	7. Chapter 7

Kyungsoo stared at the computer screen. His eyes were wide and he was mid chew on his sandwich as the screen shined brightly in front of him. He took another chew as the grade he had received on the presentation stared back at him.

‘62% D-‘

He swallowed slowly and felt his eyes swell up in tears as reality sunk in. He had failed. A ‘D’ was unacceptable in University. That meant that not only did they fail the class, the field trip that they were all looking forward to was officially not going to happen for them. The professor made it very clear that those that failed would not be allowed to go.

All of their hard work had been for nothing. Those sleepless nights and days spent staring at a screen didn’t mean anything now.

The group chat was blowing up with everyone asking ‘why?’ they had worked so hard, it was impossible for this to be true.

Kyungsoo wiped at his eyes and picked up the phone. There was only one person he wanted to call. He couldn’t explain why, but he felt that this person was the only one that could comfort him now.

He clicked his name from Kakao and waited as it rang.

“Kyungsoo?”

“Baekhyun?”

There was a sniffle from the other side. The latter must be crying as well. “I was about to call you.”

“I don’t know what to say.” Kyungsoo said.

“I don’t either.”

It was silent for a bit. Until Kyungsoo spoke up, “Is it ok if I come over?”

“Yes, please do.” Baekhyun answered. “I’m here at the dorm. Jongdae is in class.”

Kyungsoo agreed and hung up. He grabbed his backpack from the bed and swallowed the rest of his sandwich. He made his way out the door and towards the bus to take him to campus. He got there quickly, or at least to him it seemed quickly. He was thinking too much about the grade and didn’t focus at all on the way there.

He ran into the dormitories and knocked once he got to Baekhyun’s. The latter opened the door and practically grabbed him into a hug. The door shut behind him and Kyungsoo hugged him back.

Baekhyun sighed as he parted from him and sent him a small smile.

Kyungsoo released a small exhale. “How are you doing?”

“I’ve been better.”

Baekhyun held his hand and they both walked into Baekhyun’s room. They sat on the bed in silence, neither of them knew what to say. They were both upset, but at least they had each other. Sitting like this, with their fingers intertwined together made them feel a little calmer.

“I just can’t believe it.” Baekhyun said as he broke the silence.

Kyungsoo shook his head, “We worked so hard. I don’t understand how we did so awful.”

Baekhyun sighed, “We have to retake the class.”

“I can’t.”

Baekhyun looked up at him.

“If I fail a class, then they take away my grant. I can’t afford to come back to school next semester.”

Baekhyun’s mouth dropped slowly as his eyes looked over Kyungsoo. The latter had his head down as he bit his bottom lip.

“I can’t take out another loan. I already took one out to pay for Yonsei for a semester. I’m gonna have to work to save up money.”

“I had no idea…”

Kyungsoo scoffed, “Of course you didn’t.” He looked up with a broken smile on his lips. “You’re going to go to Monalet and Solaris without me next semester.” His voice broke as he said it. Why did it hurt so bad to think that Baekhyun would go see the ruins without him? It’s not like he had lost his chance completely. He could go on his own when he passed the class, whenever that would be. But he had officially lost his chance to go with Baekhyun and see it. And for some reason…that stung more than never going at all.

Baekhyun hugged him tightly as he felt his own heart hurt. He wanted nothing more than to see Solaris and Monalet together with Kyungsoo. His eyes watered as he thought of going without him. Why did it hurt so bad?

“I’ll see the ruins with you.”

Kyungsoo shook his head, “It’s too expensive to go. The only way is through this field trip.”

Baekhyun swallowed as he parted and stared into Kyungsoo’s eyes. “I will go with you Kyungsoo. I don’t want to go if it’s not with you.”

Kyungsoo’s eyes widened in surprised. Baekhyun suddenly realized what he had just said and let him go slowly. Why had he just said that?

“You—mean that?” Kyungsoo asked.

Baekhyun knew…that for some strange unknown reason…he did.

“I want to go with you too.”

Baekhyun felt as though something was pushing him to lean forward. Kyungsoo felt the same gravitational pull and it was making him lean into Baekhyun. This felt so…familiar. This had happened before. Perhaps in a dream…but they were positive it had happened before.

They closed their eyes as they were mere inches from one another, but their phone both began ringing at the same time. They gasped as they realized what they were about to do. It was almost as if something had taken control of them.

“I—“

Baekhyun blushed and grabbed his phone as he stood up. “Hello?” He answered.

Kyungsoo felt himself going red and immediately grabbed his own phone. He looked down at it and saw that he had just gotten a message. He opened up the message from Jongin and it read:

[ _Jongin:_ it was a mistake Kyungsoo! Our grade was a mistake!]

“What do you mean—?!” Baekhyun blurted out as he listened intently to the speaker on the other end. “Uh huh?...a 9?!” He gasped and suddenly smiled wide as he looked at Kyungsoo. “Are you serious?!”

Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow as he opened up the group chat. There were dozens of messages that he had not yet opened. He scrolled to the very top but stopped when he suddenly felt Baekhyun hug him tightly.

“Kyungsoo!” he exclaimed happily. “It was a typo! The professor meant to put a nine, not a six.”

Kyungsoo’s eyes widened and he looked over at Baekhyun, “What?”

“Jongin, Chanyeol, and Minseok went to his office to ask why we had gotten a 62%. The professor said that we didn’t, we had gotten a 92%!”

“So, we passed?”

Baekhyun nodded vigorously, “Yes! We passed!”

Kyungsoo felt a smile bloom across his lips and allowed Baekhyun to rest his head on his shoulder. He let out a sigh as he leaned into Baekhyun’s touch. He doesn’t know if he had ever felt this happy before. It was as if he was floating on clouds. He couldn’t imagine being happier than this.

“We’re going to the ruins next week.” Kyungsoo said.

Baekhyun giggled as he replied, “We are.”

***

“Alright students, once we get to the airport, please stick together. I don’t want anyone getting separated.” The professor said as he looked back at the class.

The bus was filled with eager students who were all looking forward to what was in store. Both of the classes from the morning and afternoon were in it. Everyone had done well on the projects, meaning that everyone was allowed to go on the trip.

“What did you guys pack?” Sehun asked.

“I packed cologne, but I wasn’t sure if I should have.”

Minseok scoffed at Chanyeol’s answer, “We’re going to be camping and you decide to bring cologne?”

Chanyeol shrugged, “Well I don’t know. I want to smell nice.”

“He wants to make sure Jongin thinks he smells nice .” Jongdae teased.

Jongin blushed and Chanyeol turned equally as red. They both looked away from one another at the comment.

Minseok scowled and quickly shoved Jongdae, “Shut up.”

“Where’s the lie though?” Baekhyun added.

Minseok glared at him and raised a fist, causing Baekhyun to flinch into Kyungsoo as he giggled. Kyungsoo grabbed him by the waist and pulled him in as he chuckled.

“I wouldn’t be talking Baek, you seem to get along really well with Kyungsoo.” Jongin fired back.

Baekhyun scoffed and Kyungsoo blushed.

Taemin, who was also in the bus with them, winked at Jongin and asked, “Why so defensive?”

Jongin crossed his arms as he slumped in his seat. Why was everyone suddenly picking on him?

When they arrived at the airport, the professor made sure to keep them in orderly fashion. They all made their way to the designated areas, showed their tickets and checked their bags. It went by quickly and next thing they knew, they were on the plane. Both classes were seated together in the back of the plane. They were allowed to sit with whoever they wanted as long as they stayed in the back with the class.

Chanyeol and Jongin sat together, with Minseok in between them. Honestly, no one was surprised that he had decided to do that. Everyone knew that Minseok had suspicions about what was going on between Chanyeol and Jongin. The younger brother was being very obvious now about his feelings for Chanyeol.

Jongdae decided to sit next to Sehun and Taemin and took the window seat. He slept for the whole plane ride and didn’t even get to eat the snacks that the stewardess brought for them. Taemin spent most of the plane ride talking to Sehun, or at least trying to. The latter was a stuttering mess whenever Sehun gave him a big smile or intense stare.

Baekhyun sat by the window seat and Kyungsoo followed after him. When Baekhyun saw that Kyungsoo wanted to sit next to him, he beamed, “Ran out of seats?”

Kyungsoo smiled at him as he sat down, “No where else but here with you.”

Baekhyun scoffed, “Or did you want to sit with me?”

Kyungsoo giggled as he shook his head, “A little bit of both.”

“Do you guys mind if I sit here?” A voice asked.

The duo looked up to find a classmate from the other class, Hoseok, pointing to the seat next to Kyungsoo.

“Go ahead.” Kyungsoo told him.

Hoseok smiled at them, “Thanks. My friends all sat together and there was no more room.”

“It’s nothing don’t worry about it.”

Hoseok took out his eye mask and placed it over his eyes. He leaned back in the chair and released a yawn as he got comfortable.

Baekhyun let out a sigh as he looked ahead at the seat in front of him and shut his eyes.

“You’re going to sleep too?”

Baekhyun opened his eyes to look back at Kyungsoo, “Yeah, I don’t like when the plane takes off. That feeling is awful.”

“Oh.”

Baekhyun chuckled, “The truth is, I’m scared of heights.”

“Oh!”

Baekhyun shook his head as he laughed a bit harder. “I know…I don’t come across as the type.”

“Well…I mean…when I was nervous for the project, you held my hand.”

“Yeah?”

“Um…if you want, you can hold my hand.”

Baekhyun raised an eyebrow and looked down at Kyungsoo’s hand that was resting on the arm rest.

“If you want…”

Baekhyun looked back at Kyungsoo to see that the latter was looking away. He was completely red. He was biting on his bottom lip and Baekhyun couldn’t help the sudden feeling of adoration that engulfed him. It was strange…the feeling of déjà vu that overwhelmed him.

Baekhyun placed his hand on top of Kyungsoo’s and slowly moved his fingers along to intertwine them with his. Kyungsoo looked down at their hands and gave the elder’s a squeeze. It felt nice…to have their hands like this. Baekhyun let out a soft sigh as he suddenly felt relaxed and at ease.

Kyungsoo laid in his seat as he shut his eyes. He felt so complete and whole. It was as if there never was a piece of him missing. Sitting here like this made him feel like nothing else mattered…as if he was about to meet his destiny.

Kyungsoo opened his eyes and blinked. Perhaps those thoughts were just a little too deep.

“This is your captain speaking. The plane will be taking off shortly. Please fasten your seatbelts and be ready for takeoff.”


	8. Chapter 8

“Are you all excited?” The professor asked as the bus drove to the ruins.

The plane had landed last night and they had stayed at a hotel. It was comfortable and they slept well, although most of them were too restless to sleep. They now had their belongings on them and were heading to their destination.

Excited was an understatement for everything they felt while on the bus. They were completely enthralled by the fact that the ruins were a mere miles away.

“I’m trembling.” Sehun said as he looked out the window.

Jongin leaned over Sehun to look out the window with him. The scenery was beautiful. They were so far away from the city and all that could be seen was the country side.

“What do you think they look like in person?” Jongin asked.

Sehun shrugged, “I think it’s going to be nothing like I ever imagined.”

“I think so too.” Jongin replied.

Sehun had seen and heard so much about the two ancient cities. It was now time to finally see if it was all true. Would it be as wonderful as he thought it would be? Or would it not reach his expectations?

His eyes looked around the bus and all of his friends looked nervous. Chanyeol and Jongdae were talking eagerly about something. One could tell because Chanyeol’s eyes would widen, while Jongdae’s smile would widen.

Baekhyun and Minseok sat next to each other and laughed about a joke that Baekhyun had most likely made. They both seemed lighthearted and enthusiastic.

Taemin sat next to Kyungsoo. Taemin seemed to be telling a story, Kyungsoo was listening intently with a slight pout. He nodded to show Taemin that he was listening.

His eyes landed on Jongin who had his eyes wide as he stared out the window. Sehun giggled as he said, “What are you—“

The bus suddenly halted and the professor stood up to say, “We have arrived.”

***

“This is it?” A student asked as they got off of the bus.

The professor shook his head, “No, we need to walk a little bit. But up ahead, is Solaris.”

Baekhyun felt his heart accelerate at the sound of that name. He felt sweat accumulate and his mouth go dry. Why was he so nervous?

“This is the place where we will be camping. Luckily the university has provided us with breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”

There was a small cabin that would be used for the restroom. Everything else, including where they would sleep, would be outside. There were benches for them to eat on and tents that they had brought for shelter. The university provided all of these things for the students because of all of the hard work they had put in. They were lucky to be able to attend a university that rewarded its students for doing so well.

They set up their tents first and placed their belongings inside. Each tent could house about four people. So they would be need to decide who would sleep in the same tent. The park rangers smiled and greeted each one of them as they assembled their tents. The rangers were there just to make sure that nothing went wrong while on the trip.

“Who are you bunking with?” Chanyeol asked as he set up the tent with Jongdae.

Jongdae shrugged as he wet his lips, “It doesn’t matter.”

“You want to bunk with Jongin.” Baekhyun teased as he gestured to Chanyeol.

They all laughed while Jongin and Chanyeol blushed. Minseok stopped what he was doing to throw a shoe at Baekhyun who dodged it just in time.

“You want to sleep with Kyungsoo!” Chanyeol exclaimed.

Chanyeol didn’t think before he spoke and the rest of the friends laughed even louder. Baekhyun’s mouth dropped while Kyungsoo flinched and dropped the pole he was about to use to make the tent stand.

“Chan—Chanyeol!” Baekhyun shouted.

“You started it!”

“Guys, we have ten minutes before we eat and head to Solaris.” The professor told them as he walked by.

The friends nodded and quickly began working on their tents once again. Baekhyun did his best to not think about what Chanyeol had just said. The latter should think before he speaks. Poor Kyungsoo looked absolutely mortified.

After a couple of minutes, all of the students got together on the benches to eat. They would be walking towards the ruins of Solaris and needed to have a lot of energy. They ate a quick meal which consisted of quail, boiled carrots, and a side of berries.

“The berries were the prince’s favorite.” Baekhyun said as he ate one.

Jongdae rolled his eyes, “Everyone knows that. It’s Solaris history 101. The textbooks always describe how he would send his knights to get berries.”

Baekhyun nodded as he smiled, “They’re my favorite too.”

Once meal time was over, they each cleaned up their mess and gathered the belongings they would be taking with them. This included a small backpack filled with notebooks, pencils, and of course, a camera.

“Everyone follow me.” The professor said as he led the way.

The students all trailed behind him. Each of them nervous yet excited.

“It’s just over this hill…”

***

Awestruck was nothing when compared to what Baekhyun felt when he saw the ruins. He had seen so many pictures of this place. But he never expected it to look like this.

The professor allowed them to roam around the city and tomorrow they would enter inside of the castle. After about an hour of them exploring the city, he would call them all together to give them a brief history lesson on something in the center.

“Is this gold?” Chanyeol asked as he peered at one of the walls of the houses. The homes were almost all destroyed due to the raid by Monalets. But the remnants left behind showed how beautiful they once were.

Jongdae walked over next to Chanyeol to walk inside one of the homes. “This is amazing.” He remarked as his eyes darted around.

Sehun and Jongin wandered to houses and stopped on one in particular. It was a small home in the corner of town. It seemed to be the only one with a roof over it.

“Let’s go inside.” Jongin said eagerly.

Sehun followed behind him just as eager. The wind blew behind him, practically pushing him in. He walked inside and looked around to find what seemed like a kitchen and small living room.

“This is where the priestess lived.”

“How do you know?” Jongin questioned.

“Because of the portrait on the wall.” He pointed to a painting that had been preserved even after the war. It was a painting of the Sun Goddess, the religion that Solarians used to believe in.

“Oh right!” Jongin said as he stared at it. He took out his camera and took a picture and then made his way outside.

Sehun stared at the portrait and furrowed his brows. This seemed…familiar. The wind softly caressed his cheek and he turned. There was no window nor door open, how did wind get inside?

“Sehun come here!”

Sehun heard Jongin’s voice and walked towards what seemed like the back yard. Jongin was standing in front of a small cottage. Sehun stood next to him.

“This is so cute!” Jongin said as he circled around it.

Sehun suddenly felt a chill go up his spine and he swallowed. This all seemed…too familiar.

“Isn’t this amazing!” Jongin replied.

“Oh, yeah.”

Sehun peered at the cottage and suddenly felt the wind once more hit his back. It was gentle at first, but then got stronger. Without realizing, he suddenly began walking forward. It was just a cottage. A simple place that belonged to those that lived here with the priestess…

He extended his hand and opened the door. He peeked in and slowly made his way inside.

The priestess lived here with her husband…

Sehun’s eyes looked around the shack and he took the whole thing in.

And lived with…

His eyes widened as it landed on a single white pigeon that was staring right back at him.

Her son…

As if a flip had been switched, images flooded Sehun’s mind. Images of the days he used to roam this shack. He suddenly saw how the priestess would smile at him when he made her lemon juice. Or when her husband would hug him tight and tell him how proud he was. Memories of when he was…the priestess’s son.

His eyes suddenly grew watery as he fell backwards. He suddenly remembered everything. He had been reincarnated.

“Sehun?”

Sehun looked back and saw Jongin looking at him with an eyebrow raised…Jongin!

“Are you alright? Did you fall down?”

“Er…” What is he supposed to answer?

“Y—yes.”

“Yes what?”

Sehun wanted to run and hug him. He suddenly remembered everything. Jongin had…died…

“I…I’m ok.”

“You sure?”

Sehun gulped as he pushed the memories away. What was he supposed to gain by remembering all this? He was a new person with a completely different life.

“I’m sure.” Yet the pain of those days still stung. He felt an immense pain suddenly overwhelm him…and it was unbearable.

“The professor just called us to meet up with him.” Jongin said as he extended his hand for Sehun to take.

Sehun gripped on tight and pulled himself up. He didn’t want to let go.

“You sure you’re ok?”

Sehun nodded, “Yes, I just—I feel a bit lightheaded.”

“You feel dizzy?”

“A bit.”

Jongin scoffed, “We can tell the professor and maybe he’ll let us go back to camp.”

Sehun shook his head. How was he supposed to behave normal now when all he wanted to do was yell at him that he remembered? Why must he endure this alone?

“No, I’ll feel better soon. Just…can I please hold your hand and you guide me along?”

“Um…” Jongin pierced his lips together as he thought. What had gotten into him? Why was he acting so weird? “Sure.”

Sehun tightened his grip on the latter as the realization suddenly dawned on him. He would have to face each and every one of them in a couple of seconds. His eyes watered once again as he realized he could not hug either of them. Chanyeol, Jongin, Baekhyun, and Kyungsoo, all gone without mercy. Jongdae and Minseok…who had become his guardians until he had died of old age. And lastly, how could he face Taemin? Sehun suddenly gasped as he realized that his beloved had also been reincarnated…

Why such torture? Why must he be the only one that remembers?

***

Sehun walked with Jongin back to where the group was. His head was down and he didn’t want to face them. He isn’t sure that he could…

“Guys come on! The professor is going to show us something in the center of town.”

Sehun stiffened. That was Baekhyun’s voice. The prince…

Sehun shook his head and looked up. The latter was smiling from ear to ear, waving them over. Kyungsoo walked over next to Baekhyun. He was also smiling at the both of them.

They had all met once again. Baekhyun and Kyungsoo still looked amazing next to one another. Sehun couldn’t help but smile as he realized that in this life they could have their happily ever after.

“Are you ok?”

Sehun snapped out of his thoughts at Kyungsoo’s voice. He hadn’t even realized how close they had gotten to them until he saw their confused faces.

“Um…yes.”

Baekhyun bit his bottom lip as he looked at Jongin.

Sehun blinked and suddenly realized that he was crying. He lifted up his hand and wiped at his eyes. “I just…feel so emotional.”

Baekhyun took his hand and pulled him along. “I get it. It’s crazy to imagine that these ruins once housed so many people. And now…it’s like their spirits are here, you know?”

Sehun smiled and nodded, “Closer than you can imagine.”

“We gotta go.” Kyungsoo commented. “The class is leaving us behind.”

The four of them had to jog a bit to catch up with the class. They stood next to them and Sehun realized what the professor wanted to show them.

“Ok class, this is where Solarians would hold trials.”

Sehun gasped and looked around the crowd. His eyes scanned each and every face until it landed on the one he was looking for.

Chanyeol had his phone out and was holding it upwards toward the trial area. His lips were pierced together as he slowly moved his phone to record the area. Jongdae was next to him as he whispered. Chanyeol would nod in acknowledgement.

The professor was talking, but Sehun wasn’t paying attention. He had something else on his mind. He let go of Jongin’s hand and maneuvered his way towards Chanyeol. He had to squeeze in between the students to get to him.

“Oh, Sehun. Are you ok?” Sehun looked over to see Taemin. Sehun didn’t have time for him right now.

“I have to get to Chanyeol.” He responded as he continued his way towards Chanyeol.

“This is amazing…” Jongdae whispered loud enough for Chanyeol to hear. “This is where the knight was beheaded huh?”

Chanyeol nodded as he put his phone away. “Yeah, only two people were beheaded at this place.”

He looked over the ruins of the place that was known as ‘the extermination room’. Or at least what remained of it. All that was left was a wooden table in the center with moss growing from small pieces of wood that he imagined were the walls.

A sudden image appeared in Chanyeol’s mind. It looked like the ruin, but it looked renewed.

It disappeared quickly and Chanyeol suddenly felt dizzy. He shook his head and heard whispers. He looked around and his whole class had been replaced with other people. Some he recognized, others he didn’t. They wore clothes that seemed to be worn by someone of Monalet and Solaris times.

He was confused…but at the same time, it felt as though he had been here before.

He felt a hand slip into his and he was thrown back into reality. Sehun was next to him and was squeezing his hand tight. Chanyeol locked eyes with him and Sehun had an apologetic smile on his face.

“I’m sorry Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol raised an eyebrow, “For wh--?”

“This place is where the prince’s knight had his trial and was found guilty.” The professor interrupted.

Something suddenly told Chanyeol to look up and he did. The professor pointed to a place on the stage and Chanyeol suddenly felt a flood of memories get thrown all at once at him. He remembered it all…the day he was found by Solarians as a child and the day he had died in the extermination room. He was…the prince’s knight…Baekhyun’s knight.

He felt his entire body shake and suddenly felt dizzy. “I—I need air.”

Chanyeol turned around and walked out of the crowd. He felt so weak…he was going to faint. HE was the prince’s knight? That was impossible!

“Chanyeol?” Sehun ran to catch up with Chanyeol.

Chanyeol stayed where he was, a distance away from the crowd. How is he supposed to deal with this?

Sehun stood in front of him and grabbed him by the shoulders. “Are you ok?”

Chanyeol looked Sehun in the eyes. How could he tell him what was wrong? He would never understand.

“Chanyeol, you’re all pale. What’s going on?”

Chanyeol’s eyes watered as he gritted his teeth. He shook his head as he looked up at the sky. All of these memories suddenly infiltrated his mind…why?

“Chanyeol please, let me help you.”

Chanyeol stayed silent.

Sehun’s eyes watered and he shouted, “I didn’t stand up for you before! I want to be there for you now!”

Chanyeol blinked as tears fell down his face. Did he perhaps remember too?

“Before?”

Sehun bit his bottom lip, “I mean…I want to…um….”

“You remember?”

Sehun swallowed as he took a chance, “Remember the day of the trial? I always felt guilt consume me for not standing up for you.”

Chanyeol hiccupped as more tears fell down his face. He did remember. “Sehun…that wasn’t your fault. I didn’t want you to stand up for me. I wanted you to live on…and you did.”

Sehun scoffed as he hugged him tight and cried in his arms. “I’m so sorry Chanyeol. And thank you…thank you for allowing me to live.”

Chanyeol hugged him just as tight and whispered, “It’s ok Sehun. I mean it.”

“What are you guys doing?”

Chanyeol’s eyes widened at the voice and the both of them parted quickly.

Jongin was staring at them with an eyebrow raised. Chanyeol felt his heart skip a beat. He was still just as beautiful as he was years ago.

“Chanyeol and I were…just…thinking of all of the innocent lives lost back then and got emotional.”

“Ah…yeah, it’s really sad when you think about it.”

Chanyeol wiped at his eyes as he smiled him. He couldn’t have him as a knight. But in this life, Jongin will be his. He would marry him, live in an apartment, and have their happily ever after. He didn’t care if Jongin didn’t remember. He would win him over in this life, just as he had before. “Jongin,” He began, “I feel better now that you’re here.”

***

“Chanyeol?” Sehun called out.

“Hm?”

Sehun grabbed his arm and pulled on it. “You’re staring again.”

Chanyeol scoffed and his eyes drifted back to Sehun. He couldn’t take his eyes off of Jongin. When his memories returned, so did his feelings. The last time he saw Jongin as a knight was the night he got caught kissing him.

Chanyeol wanted so badly to jump into Jongin’s arms and have him become his in this lifetime. But he knew that he would have to be patient. He couldn’t let his feelings get in the way of reality.

“Sorry, I can’t help it.”

“Well, learn to help it. It’s getting creepy.”

Chanyeol raised an eyebrow, “Isn’t it funny how everyone’s personality is the same?”

Sehun’s eyebrow went up in confusion, “What?”

“I mean think about it! We’re all the same, just a new generation.”

Sehun chuckled, “That’s what concerns you? Not the fact that you are the reincarnation of the knight who laid down his life to protect the prince?”

Chanyeol shrugged, “It happened a long time ago right?”

Sehun shook his head, “Then quit staring at Jongin.”

Chanyeol smiled wide as he thought of the latter, “He is just as gorgeous as the first time I laid eyes on him years ago. And his personality is just as amazing too.”

Sehun cringed and shoved him, “Shut up.”

“Guys, we’re going into the castle now!” Jongdae shouted as he threw himself on top of them. The latter had no idea how to read an atmosphere. They were both away from the group, where the old well used to be. Not that anyone would know. It was just a big hole now.

Sehun and Chanyeol jumped in surprise as Jongdae leaned on them.

“The castle?” Sehun questioned as he leaned into Jongdae.

“Yeah!” Jongdae exclaimed excitedly. “My dream has always been to go inside!”

Chanyeol looked over at his fellow kni—friend. He was beaming happily, his eyes shining. He didn’t remember anything. And hopefully he wouldn’t have to.

Sehun also looked over at Jongdae. The one who had been there for him until he grew old and passed away. Minseok and Jongdae had protected and comforted him whenever he felt guilty. Sehun always made them smile when they stayed up at night crying. These memories were something he had, something that Jongdae and Minseok didn’t.

“You think the prince’s room is still intact? Or the knight’s quarters? Do you think they are still recognizable?” Jongdae questioned with a curious glint in his eyes.

Sehun smiled as he placed his arm around his shoulder and pulled him in. “We’ll see.”

They didn’t understand how this whole memory thing worked. Were they each going to get them back? Was it only them two? Or was it somehow already selected who would be getting their memory back?

No matter what it was, they would remain friends with each of them and do their best to pick up where they left off.


	9. Chapter 9

Baekhyun’s eyes darted around the throne room, or at least what used to be the throne room. It was so big and extravagant. He could imagine that one day it was probably filled with people every day.

His eyes drifted to the front of it and he realized that must have been where the king and queen sat. Their chairs were said to be red, with gold that embroidered around them. Baekhyun walked closer to where the chairs would have been and suddenly an image flashed in his head.

He blinked it away and shook his head; that was strange. He began to look around the room and realized…he had been here before.

He tilted his head as he pouted. He turned his head and began to spin around as he did his best to remember. It was…his dream?

“Baekhyun, isn’t this amazing!” Kyungsoo called from next to him.

Baekhyun turned towards him and forgot all about what he was thinking, “Yeah it is.” He replied.

He suddenly felt all soft inside when Kyungsoo walked next to him. The latter was smiling wide and his eyes crinkled upwards. He had his phone out and was recording the entire thing. He pointed the camera towards Baekhyun. The elder made a silly face and waved.

Kyungsoo giggled and waved back. He stopped recording and put his phone down.

“They’re still so up on each other.” Sehun said as he stared at the both of them.

Chanyeol nodded at Sehun’s comment. “They are.”

They both had a hint of glimmer in each other’s eyes. It seemed as though they gravitated towards one another whenever they were in the same room.

“When do you think they will love each other again?”

Sehun shrugged, “I don’t know. But I think it’s going to be soon.”

Chanyeol leaned on Sehun’s shoulder as he let out a soft exhale. Sehun blinked and looked over at him. He didn’t think he would get this second opportunity to see Chanyeol again. He thought that it was all over the day that he was exiled so many years ago. But fate gave him a chance to thank him when he was unable to before.

“Chanyeol,” Sehun suddenly whispered, “You saved my life before.”

Chanyeol straightened up and looked at him, “Sehun, I told you, it was my pleasure. I would do it again if I could.”

Sehun scoffed as his eyes watered once again.

Chanyeol chuckled and rubbed his thumbs across the younger’s cheeks to wipe away the tears, “Ah come on. Don’t make a scene.” He told him softly.

Jongin stood next to Jongdae, his eyebrow twitching as he looked at Chanyeol and Sehun.

“This must be where they sat huh Jongin?” Jongdae exclaimed excitedly as he pointed to the end of the room. He expected some kind of answer, but turned his head when he realized that Jongin wasn’t answering him. “Jongin?”

“Hm?”

Jongdae laughed, “Are you listening?”

Jongin pierced his lips together as he shook his head, “Sorry.”

“What are you looking at?” Jongdae spun around to look at the room all at once, “How the perfectly crafted windows would let the sun in and give them light for the room? They were geniuses! How did they make each window the same width and length from one another without a ruler?”

Jongin shrugged. He should be thrilled out about this moment. This is everything he had ever wanted to see. But he couldn’t focus. Since when were Chanyeol and Sehun so close? The two had been inseparable ever since they saw the execution square. Chanyeol had asked HIM out on a date…why was he suddenly giving all of his attention to Sehun?

“You still aren’t listening?” Jongdae questioned as he walked to take a picture of the entire throne room. He had given up trying to get Jongin’s attention and instead decided to put his focus on the throne room.

He got right in the center of the room and took out his phone. He smiled wide as he lifted his phone and snapped a shot. Perfect.

A sudden sting came from his cheek and he lifted up his hand to rub at it. He doesn’t remember anything touching his cheek…

He shook his head as he suddenly felt a bit dizzy. He rubbed at his head and wet his lips. He looked up and saw…the king of Solaris. He was standing over him with an angry scowl on his face. Jongdae gasped as he fell backwards onto his back. His mouth opened wide as it dawned on him why his cheek stung…

This is where the king had struck him across the face.

Jongdae’s eyes watered and his face scrunched up as he began to remember it all. The king had struck him across the face because HE was the prince’s knight. HE was the one that betrayed the kingdom and saved so many lives the day of the tragedy…along with…

His eyes scanned the room and saw Minseok talking with Kyungsoo and Baekhyun. Did they remember?

He let out heavy breaths as he tried standing. But his legs felt like jelly. He held his head and shut his eyes. How does he get these memories to stop coming in at once? He didn’t ask for this!

“Jongdae?”

Jongdae’s eyes widened and he looked up to see Chanyeol and Sehun hovering over him. They had their hands on his back and their eyes were filled with worry.

Jongdae scooted back as he saw them. Chanyeol had died at executioners square. Sehun had lived with him until they both died of old age on the mountains.

“Are you alright?”

Jongdae swallowed, unable to find the words to express himself.

“Jongdae?”

Sehun and Chanyeol looked at one another and then back at Jongdae. Sehun gritted his teeth together and pulled on Jongdae’s arm. “Let’s go outside.” He said as he pulled him along.

Jongdae made no fight to get away. But it was weird to be pulled by Sehun.

Once outside, Sehun let out a sigh and said, “So, do you know why you prefer meals without meat?”

Jongdae’s eyes widened. Is it possible he also remembered?

“You were really talented with a sword before, huh?” Chanyeol asked.

Jongdae crumbled as he fell into Sehun’s arms. They did remember.

“Did you just get the memories back?” Chanyeol asked as he rubbed his head.

Jongdae nodded as he sniffled. “I remember getting hit in the face. I think standing in the center of the throne room triggered it.” He turned to look at Chanyeol and practically leaped in his arms. “I thought I’d never see you again.”

Chanyeol laughed as he looked up at the sky. “Stop with all this cheesy stuff.”

Sehun smiled as he snuggled into Jongdae. It was nice to have his brother remember. The one that had protected him until the end of his days. Of course it would be nice to have both his saviors with him, but he could settle for one if that’s all he could have.

***

Jongdae had walked back inside and couldn’t keep his eyes off of Kyungsoo and Baekhyun. The two were attached to the hip and flirted in the most subtle ways. He wanted to yell and tell them to just kiss already. He knew that they were destined to be. But they were unaware of what was going on. Chanyeol and Sehun had told him about who remembered and who didn’t. Apparently they were the only ones who did.

“So, how do you think they’ll remember?” Jongdae asked as he gestured towards Baekhyun and Kyungsoo. Baekhyun was teasing Kyungsoo about a picture he had just taken.

“Good question.” Sehun responded as he scratched his head; his hand interlaced with Jongdae’s. A habit he had acquired from his past life. Jongdae blinked but let a small smile spread across his face as he remembered how Sehun would always run to him when he had a nightmare. They were each other’s support system along with Minseok.

“I remembered where I died.” Chanyeol said as he pouted. “Maybe where they died?”

Jongdae felt a chill go up his spine and he pressed himself into Chanyeol. He doesn’t want to remember that. “That’s dark.”

“When do you think Jongin will remember?” Sehun questioned.

Chanyeol looked over at his Jongin. He was with Taemin laughing at something he probably said. The latter still had the same beautiful smile, eyes, and personality. He wanted nothing more than to scoop him up in his arms and never let him go. He wanted to get near Jongin and kiss him so bad…but he couldn’t. Not yet anyway.

“He is already jealous of you hanging out with Chanyeol so much.” Jongdae responded.

Chanyeol’s eyes widened, “He’s…what?”

Jongdae laughed, “Yeah. He was glaring at you earlier. I didn’t really understand it before. But now it all makes sense.”

Chanyeol looked back to find Jongin staring at him. Once they locked eyes, Jongin looked away immediately. Chanyeol felt his heart skip a beat as he realized that Jongin already liked him. Maybe…he could walk up to him and Jongin wouldn’t reject him.

“Hey Romeo…” Jongdae told him as he waved a hand in front of his face. “We aren’t knights anymore. Walk up to Jongin now and Minseok won’t hesitate to break your face.”

Chanyeol pouted as reality settled in. He was now a regular student that had a crush on another. He was going to need to use modern tactics to get him.

“I already asked him out on a date. He said yes, but I need to wait until he tells Minseok.”

Sehun smirked, “Yeah, that isn’t going to happen. You better hope that he gets his memory back.”

Chanyeol twisted his mouth to the side and looked over at Jongin. He wanted them to start where they had left off. He missed Jongin so much…but it seemed selfish to want him to get his memory back. They had suffered so much when they were knights. He doesn’t want his Jongin to suffer any pain.

“I don’t mind if he never gets the memories back.” Chanyeol said as his eyes traced the smile that he had grown to love before and now. “I’ll win him over again, just like I did back then.” He suddenly felt a boost of confidence and walked up right up to the latter. He didn’t know what was compelling him forward, but he knew that there was only one thing on his mind right now.

“What are you doing?” Chanyeol asked as he leaned into him.

Jongin jumped and turned around to find Chanyeol surprisingly close. He turned a bit red and back away a bit. “Just…looking…what are you doing?”

Chanyeol shrugged, “I caught you staring and I wanted to know what’s up?”

Jongin shook his head, “As if I would ever stare at you. I was probably spaced out.”

Chanyeol raised an eyebrow as he smirked. He was still exactly the same…

“Uh huh…well I want you to know that there is never any reason for you to feel jealous of anyone. I only have eyes for you.”

Jongin scoffed as he his cheeks went pink, “Me? Jealous? Yeah, sure Chanyeol.”

Minseok suddenly burst in between the both of them, sending a wide smile towards Chanyeol.

“I have to take Jongin, ok? I want to show him something.”

Minseok pulled his little brother away, leaving a chuckling Chanyeol. He bit his tongue as he looked at his retreating form. Sehun stood next to him and questioned, “What did you tell him?”

Chanyeol shrugged, “The truth.”

Jongdae ran up to them and leaned on Chanyeol as he looked at Minseok. He wanted to run up to him and hug him so bad…but that would be strange considering he had never done it before. At least, not in this life.

***

“Today was amazing wasn’t it?” Baekhyun asked as he pulled up the zipper from his sleeping bag.

Kyungsoo sighed as he turned his body to look over at him. The both of them had to share a tent with Minseok and Jongin. The brothers were already fast asleep, leaving Baekhyun and Kyungsoo alone to talk.

“It was…” Kyungsoo replied. “It was as if it was a dream.”

Baekhyun nodded, “Yeah, don’t think I’m weird, but I feel like I’ve seen the castle before.”

“Of course you have. We look over pictures of it in books and stuff.” Kyungsoo responded.

“No no…I mean…” Baekhyun put his lips together as he tried to think of how he could word this. “Like…I dreamt of it before?”

Kyungsoo scoffed, “The image must have engraved in your memory and then made its way into your dreams.”

Baekhyun smiled as he realized that was probably it. His cheeks went up and his eyes crinkled. Kyungsoo also began to smile, making his eyes shine as they looked into Baekhyun’s. A weird spark suddenly ran up both their spines, causing them to both jump.

“Umm...”

“Are you ok?” Baekhyun asked.

Kyungsoo nodded, “Yeah, just a weird…feeling.”

Baekhyun gulped as he forced a smile, “Yeah, must be some bugs or something.”

Kyungsoo scoffed, “Yeah, maybe that’s the cue to sleep?”

Baekhyun agreed as he snuggled into his sleeping bag. “Yeah, tomorrow’s gonna be a long day.”

Tomorrow, they would spend most of the day resting and then when evening hit, they would all head to Monalet. The professor said that Monalet was best seen at night. They knew that many people that visited all said the same thing.

“Goodnight Baekhyun.”

“Goodnight Kyungsoo.”


	10. Chapter 10

Minseok woke up with the sun hitting his face. He let out a sigh and rolled over in his sleeping bag as he yawned. He sat up, hair in every direction. He looked down to see Jongin, Baekhyun, and Kyungsoo still sleeping. He let out a scoff and shook his head. His head turned as he heard his tent zipping upwards, someone was coming in.

“Hey,” Jongdae poked his head in and smiled wide once he made eye contact with a groggy Minseok.

“How did you sleep?” Jongdae asked as he crawled into the tent that was already a bit too cramped.

“Fine. You?”

Jongdae made his way next to Minseok, shoving Jongin softly away. “Good. Have you been sleeping well?”

Minseok nodded, “Yeah.”

“No nightmares?”

Minseok let out a soft chuckle, “No. What are you talking about?”

A soft sigh had them both turning their heads. Jongin was blinking as he looked up at the both of them. His lips were pouting and his eyes were half open. Minseok giggled as he said, “Good morning.” 

Jongin furrowed his brows and buried his face in the pillow.

Jongdae’s eyes softened and then they swayed to Baekhyun and Kyungsoo. He felt his heart beat faster and bit his bottom lip. He saw as their bellies gently went up and down. They were both breathing…sleeping peacefully.

“Hey…” Jongdae whispered as he leaned into them. “Wake up.” He told them as he shook them both softly.

Their eyes both fluttered open and they grimaced.

Jongdae smiled wider and leaned down to hug them both. “You’re awake!” He exclaimed happily.

Minseok laughed and scrunched up his eyebrows. “You woke up in a good mood.”

***

“Sehun!”

Sehun blinked as he swung his backpack over his shoulder. Ever since he had gotten his memory back, he had been unable to even face this person.

“Sehun, are you excited to go to Monalet?”

Sehun slowly turned his head to face brown eyes that shined, a smile that was a little too big, and hair that was groomed to impress. He can’t believe he had been so ignorant before. How could he have not known how Taemin felt about him?

“I am.” Sehun responded.

“I can’t wait to go either.” Taemin responded with eagerness.

Of course Taemin was excited. It was his home. Sehun hoped that Taemin wouldn’t remember anything. Taemin had been the prophecy. He can’t even imagine how Taemin would act if he found out that his past self was key in destroying both kingdoms. “Taemin, do you…want to go together?”

“Hm?”

Sehun shrugged, “I mean…look around together?”

Taemin’s mouth dropped but he shut it quickly. “Su—sure.” He replied. “Let me just get my sweater.” He ran off back to his tent.

Jongdae walked up to Sehun and placed his hand on his shoulder, “What are you doing?”

Sehun shut his eyes, “I owe him. He saved my life back then and I was so cruel to him. The least I can do is try to show him affection now.”

Jongdae shook his head, “Sehun, I got to know you before and now. Why are you getting his hopes up?”

Sehun shrugged his hand off as he sighed.

“It’s because that guilt hasn’t left you, huh? You still think that it’s your fault he revealed everything?”

Sehun stiffened and swallowed. Jongdae didn’t need to hear him speak to know his answer.

“Alright class!” The professor shouted, “We are off to Monalet!”

***

Kyungsoo took one step into the kingdom and his eyes widened at the flowers that glowed on the pathway. He had heard how Monalets used these plants to light their way in the night. They would plant them in their homes, in the streets, or on pathways throughout the kingdom.

He bent down and tilted his head as he took the sight in. They were extraordinary! Monalets were so unique in the sense that they were able to find a way to light up their kingdom without fire. He reached out and touched the top of the flower. It illuminated so bright. It was almost as if…he had seen it before…

“Kyungsoo, come on!” Baekhyun exclaimed as he pulled on his shoulder.

Kyungsoo looked up at Baekhyun, shaking himself from his thoughts. He stood up and the elder pulled him along with the group. He wasn’t sure when this became a thing, but he didn’t mind. Baekhyun could pull him to wherever he wanted, Kyungsoo would always follow behind.

Their eyes darted upwards and they saw the ruins of what was once Monalet. The houses were still standing, but had moss growing in every section of them. They were all worn down and were visibly abandoned. Some were unrecognizable due to the fires that were started by Solarians.

“Welcome to Monalet everyone.” The professor announced. “Or at least, what is left of it.”

The class had excited expressions on their faces and ran off in different directions to explore.

Sehun smiled from ear to ear as he took everything in. Except for the visibly old houses, it was as if nothing had changed.

“Sehun, where do you wanna go first?” Taemin asked as he extended his hand and took Sehun’s.

Sehun blinked and quickly pulled away. He didn’t mean to do it, but it was his first instinct…

Taemin wet his lips, but smiled quickly. Sehun once again felt awful. He had been so cruel to him before and now…he was doing it again.

“Um…start wherever you want, I’ll follow.” Sehun smiled.

Taemin stayed smiling, but Sehun could see that it didn’t reach his eyes. He wanted so badly to tell him that he was sorry. That his heart belonged to another…and now in this life, he would not let that someone get away. But how could he? He wasn’t supposed to know how Taemin felt.

“Sehun, if you don’t want to explore with me, it’s alright.”

It’s not that he didn’t want to explore with him. It’s that he didn’t want to hurt him.

“Hey Sehun,” A hand pressed into his shoulder and pulled him back a bit, “Want to check out the houses over there?” Jongdae asked.

Sehun leaned easily into the touch. He turned his head and smiled.

Taemin bit his bottom lip, “I’ll just go with Minseok.”

Sehun turned back to look at him and took a step forward, but Jongdae held him back.

“I’ll see you later.” Taemin told him.

Sehun furrowed his brows as he saw his retreating form, “What are you doing?” He snapped at Jongdae harshly.

Jongdae shook his head, “A better question is, what are YOU doing? You know the way he feels about you. Why are you stringing him along?”

“I’m not. I want to like him. I want to…”

“You know you can’t. I know your heart still belongs to that prince from before.”

Sehun looked over at Jongdae. He wanted to push him away and shout ‘NO!’ But what good would it do? He was right.

Jongdae straightened up, “You met him in this life already, haven’t you?”

Sehun shut his eyes and sighed, “He’s a waiter…”

Jongdae scoffed, “You can’t force yourself to have feelings for Taemin. Don’t let the guilt of over 1000 years ago lead your life now. We were reborn for a reason. We are meant to live a whole new life.”

Sehun nodded as he agreed. He was reborn for a reason. And that reason was not to fall in love with Taemin. He was a whole new person that had a completely different life.

***

Minseok was looking around the ruins alone with a flashlight in hand. He had promised himself to see everything there was to see.

“Hey Minseok!”

The eldest blinked and looked towards the source of the voice. He shined the light in the direction and Taemin squinted as he pushed the light away from his face. He furrowed his brows and Minseok laughed.

“Hey, I thought you were gonna be with Sehun.”

Taemin wet his lips and shook his head, “I was but, I think he likes Jongdae.”

Minseok scoffed and shook his head, “Jongdae? No way.”

Taemin sighed, “I think so. You should have seen the way he looked at him when he got close.” Taemin thought back to how Sehun turned around and how his eyes got so gentle. His body completely relaxed as he leaned into Jongdae.

“There is no way Sehun likes Jongdae.” Minseok said with a big grin on his face, interrupting Taemin’s thoughts. Even the idea of Sehun wanting to kiss Jongdae caused Minseok to want to burst out laughing.

“How do you know?”

Minseok sighed as he turned back around, “I just do.”

Taemin followed behind him with his own flashlight in hand. Monalet was not dark due to the all of the flowers that had been planted, but without a flashlight one may trip or step on something.

“How about we focus on Monalet. I mean, just look at all of this!”

Taemin’s eyes wandered around the room that they had walked into. He had learned enough to know that it belonged to a knight. Minseok had wandered into where the knight’s training grounds were, meaning that they were in a knight’s private quarter.

“It’s incredible.”

Minseok nodded in agreement. “It is.” He turned off his flashlight and held it by his side. The room wasn’t dark at all, if anything, it was very well illuminated. Not only was there a lot of flowers from before the tragedy, but after the tragedy new ones had also grown. This made the private quarter very bright.

Taemin’s eyes wandered around the room and he felt fine. Until he felt as though something had penetrated his stomach. He let out a gasp and placed his hand on his abdomen. He let out a loud exhale as his face scrunched up.

Minseok looked over at him and raised an eyebrow, “Taemin?”

Taemin let out steady breaths as he waited for the pain to subside.

“Taemin?” Minseok held the latter by the shoulder. “Should I get the professor?”

Taemin shook his head as he shut his eyes. It was beginning to go away. That was strange.

Minseok kept his eyes on Taemin to make sure he was alright. The younger began to straighten up, but kept his hand on his stomach.

“Taemin should I—“ Minseok didn’t get to finish his sentence. Something caught his eye and he immediately looked towards it. There, by what would have been where a desk was located, was a pile of dirt that seemed to be a little flatter than the rest of the area. He tilted his head to the side and furrowed his brows. This suddenly looked, familiar. He stared at the area intently and then an image flashed in his mind, but then went back to what it really looked like. He shook his head and shut his eyes. He had a headache….suddenly a huge…

He opened his eyes and then the room became what it really was. It was the head knight’s private quarters. Minseok’s eyes widened as images flooded his memory.

“Minseok?”

Minseok straightened up and was staring at nothing in particular. His eyes were getting watery and Taemin scrunched up his face as he tried to understand what was happening.

“Minseok?”

Taemin felt the same familiar sting and he let out a grunt as he held his abdomen again. He fell to his knees and looked up. His eyes widened as he realized…he had a dream like this once. Just like Minseok’s memories returned…so did Taemin’s.

Taemin’s head began to ache and he held it to try and stop the memories that appeared. He gritted his teeth as he remembered that he had died in this very room when he was betrayed by someone he once considered a father.

Minseok and Taemin both let out a loud gasp at the same time. Minseok’s cheeks were stained with tears and he held his head as he looked down at the ground.

Taemin was on his hands on knees as he let out heavy breaths. He suddenly felt like vomiting…

Minseok swallowed and slowly looked over at Taemin. “Tae—Taemin?”

Taemin blinked away the tears, stood up and sprinted towards Minseok. He threw himself onto him as he buried his face into his shoulder.

Minseok was taken aback, but wrapped his arms around Taemin as the younger cried into his shoulder.

“Taemin…”

“I’m so sorry…”

Minseok squeezed his eyes shut tight. And his arms hugged him even tighter.

“It wasn’t your fault…”

“Yes it was.”

“That’s the past Taemin. We’re completely different now.”

Minseok’s eyes darted to the patch of dirt that had caught his attention earlier and he furrowed his brows. There was the proof he needed to show who was behind the fall of both kingdoms.

Minseok parted from him and walked over to it.

“Minseok?” Taemin questioned as he wiped his tears with his hand.

Minseok bent down and began to dust the patch of dirt with his hand. Is it possible that archeologists missed this? Could it still be here?

“What are you doing?”

“His diary may still be here.”

Taemin’s eyes widened, “His diary?”

Minseok nodded. “I remember—“

“Guys!” A voice called out as two heads peeked into the cabin.

Minseok quickly turned towards it and his eyes widened at who he saw.

Jongin and Sehun stood next to each other. Their bodies entering the private quarter.

Minseok felt his throat go dry. He stood up and walked to Jongin. He grabbed the latter by the head and pulled him in.

Jongin’s eyes widened and he let out a squeak. “What are you doing?!”

Minseok held him tightly in his arms. The brother that he had lost so suddenly…the one he had mourned and grieved for the rest of his days alive…was now standing here in front of him. He now understood everything. All of that talk about him being protective because he lost him in his past life was right. He had lost his knight Jongin…so because of that…he protected student Jongin with everything he had.

Sehun’s eyes widened as it dawned on him what was going on.

Taemin bit his bottom lip as he realized that Sehun was still able to make him feel the same way he did before. Sehun’s eyes and expression said everything, he also remembered.

***

“How long have you guys remembered?” Minseok asked as they sat by the campfire they had started. Baekhyun, Kyungsoo, and Jongin were already in their tents fast asleep. Once Minseok and Taemin had remembered, they clung to the rest of their friends right away. They soon found out that Jongdae, Chanyeol, and Sehun also remembered. The only ones that did not remember were Baekhyun, Kyungsoo and Jongin.

“Sehun was the first to remember.” Jongdae answered from next to him.

Minseok smiled as he leaned into Jongdae. The latter was still able to help him feel so calm.

“Were you the first Sehun?” Minseok asked dotingly. The latter had been like his little brother. They had all been there for each other after the tragedy.

“Yeah…” Sehun replied with a shy smile. “I remembered in my old home.”

Minseok smiled as he sighed. He couldn’t believe that this was actually happening. HE was the prince’s knight, Kyungsoo’s knight. “Do you think Baekhyun and Kyungsoo will remember?”

The group sat in silence as they pondered the question. Maybe they will, maybe they won’t. They didn’t know.

“I mean, it doesn’t really matter.” Minseok answered his own question. “Have you seen the way they look at each other already?”

The group scoffed as they shook their heads. The prince’s looked at one another as though there was no one else in the room. Just like they used to before.

“It won’t be long until they completely fall for each other.” Chanyeol responded as he threw wood into the fire.

“You know, I should beat you up Chanyeol.” Minseok said.

“What? Why?”

“For kissing my baby brother.”

Chanyeol chuckled, “That was a long time ago, and it doesn’t count now. Technically, I haven’t done it yet.”

“Yet!?”

Chanyeol looked up to lock eyes with Minseok’s wide eyes. “My feelings for him came back when my memories did.”

Minseok pouted and straightened up. “I guess…if he has to be with anyone…you’re…ok.”

“Just ok?”

“Don’t push it.”

Chanyeol laughed as he thought of Jongin sleeping soundly in the tent. He would love to lay in the sleeping bag next to him. But knowing Jongin, he would swat him away if not yell that he woke him up.

Chanyeol sighed as he looked back into the fire, “There is something I want to ask you guys. Something that I read about before, but now I can’t get out of my head.”

“What is it?” Jongdae replied.

“The head knight…I know is behind the fall. But, I read that he had a son that was adopted by Solaris. Is that son, me?”

The group stared in silence at the fire. Jongdae sighed, “Yes.”

Chanyeol pierced his lips together. He wasn’t sure what to respond. A piece of him knew the truth, but he didn’t want it to be true.

“But you have a whole new father now.” Sehun said as he perked up. “Forget that man. We live a new life now.”

Chanyeol chuckled. The younger had a point. He had been blessed to not be related to that man in this life.

“And now you can win Jongin over again.” Sehun pointed out.

Minseok grabbed him and pulled him in. “Let’s change topic.” Minseok said.

Chanyeol laughed and Taemin patted his shoulder as he chuckled. He knew how much the latter loved his best friend. Taemin thought of how long it took Jongin to finally admit he liked Chanyeol. And even then, he still didn’t bring it up or had much alone time with him. His eyes swayed to Sehun who was next to Jongdae and Minseok. The latter must feel so safe with them and he didn’t blame him.

“Taemin?”

Taemin blinked and realized he had spaced out. The group was staring at him and he cleared his throat. “Hm?”

“We asked if you remembered the same time Minseok did.”

“Oh, yes.” He replied.

Sehun cleared his throat and stood up, “I think I’m calling it a night.”

“Oh, well we’re in the same tent, so I’ll go too. It’s getting late and we have another busy day tomorrow.” Jongdae replied as he followed Sehun.

“Yeah, goodnight.” Taemin called after them.

Sehun bit his lip and went into his tent. Jongdae followed inside and zipped it behind him. Jongdae sat next to Sehun as he unzipped his sleeping bag.

“You ok?”

Sehun nodded, “Yes.” He straightened out the wrinkles in his sleeping bag, and looked into his luggage to pull out something to sleep in.

“It’s Taemin, isn’t it?”

Sehun looked up to look into Jongdae’s eyes, “I don’t want to hurt him.”

“You can’t give him false hope though. You need to be honest with him. “

Sehun sighed and looked away as he dug out a shirt he could sleep in. Jongdae shook his head as he realized that he wasn’t going to be able to get through to him. Sehun still had tremendous guilt and there was no way he would let it go anytime soon.

Sehun did feel sometimes that this was his fault. But that wasn’t the reason he wanted to try and like Taemin. Perhaps if he gave it enough time…then he could eventually fall for him, right? He owed him his life after all.


	11. Chapter 11

“What are we doing today?” Jongin asked as he ate breakfast with his friends.

“I think it’s a free day today.” Jongdae responded as he peeled his orange. “That means that we can explore the area around the kingdoms.”

Jongin grinned from ear to ear.

“But we need to tell the professor where we’re going.” Chanyeol added as he smiled at Jongin.

“The area around the kingdom must be beautiful huh?” Kyungsoo said as he took a scoop of the porridge he was eating.

“I want to explore the wooded area. Rumors say that’s where the princes used to go for their secret meetings.” Baekhyun said.

Kyungsoo beamed as he looked over at him, “I want to go there too!”

“It’s probably really romantic, huh?” Baekhyun winked.

The friends all looked at one another and shared a small smile as they thought of how their princes—er friends, got along. They already seemed to like one another so much! It was only a matter of time before their feelings were completely restored.

“You want to go together?” Kyungsoo asked.

Baekhyun nodded, “Sure.”

They heard a groan from their left and they turned their head to find Jongin covering his ears. “Just kiss already.” He pouted.

Baekhyun and Kyungsoo both blushed and looked away.

Kyungsoo gulped, “What are you talking about?”

“We can go with you!” Minseok interjected as he leaned forward.

“We?” Baekhyun questioned.

Jongdae burst in with just as much energy. “Yeah! Me, Minseok, Chanyeol—“

“I want to go wherever Jongin goes.” Chanyeol cut in.

Jongin jumped and looked over at Chanyeol who had a determined look in his eyes. He gulped and looked over at Minseok.

His older brother had his brows furrowed but then, they began to soften and a small smile appeared on his lips instead. His eyes drifted to Jongin and asked, “Jongin, do you want to explore with Chanyeol?”

Jongin’s mouth dropped, “Er…s—sure. I mean, if he wants to go with me.”

Minseok scoffed and looked over at Chanyeol, “Take care of him Chanyeol.”

Jongin raised an eyebrow and looked away. What was up with Minseok? This was not like the brother he knew and grew up with.

“Where do you want to go Jongin?”

Jongin turned to face Chanyeol whose face was beaming. His eyes looked soft and his smile was genuine. It made Jongin’s heart skip a beat and he suddenly grew shy. Why was he looking at him with so much adoration in his eyes?

“I—don’t know. You can pick.”

Chanyeol nodded, “Alright, I know just where I want to go.”

“Taemin, do you want to go together?” Sehun asked.

Taemin pierced his lips together and responded, “Are you sure?”

Sehun nodded, “Yes, I really want to.”

Taemin sent him a small smile, “Ok, after breakfast we can all head on out.”

***

“Did we really have to go in here? There’s nothing but branches that keep poking me.” Baekhyun pouted as he moved another branch from his face.

“Trust me, I read there is this really cool watering hole.” Minseok responded.

Kyungsoo scoffed, “I hope so. There is way too much mosquitoes for my liking.”

Minseok jumped over a small stream and landed on his feet as he giggled, “Don’t trip here.”

Baekhyun jumped over the stream and felt himself stumble. A hand was quick to grab his before he could lose his balance.

Kyungsoo pulled him up to his feet and smiled, “Careful, it’s a little slippery.”

Baekhyun giggled, “It’s nice to see that you’re protective over me.”

Kyungsoo looked away as he blushed, a shy smile coming up on his face. “No…”

“Guys hurry up!” Jongdae called out. Even in this life they were still so cheesy.

The both of them caught up quickly. Minseok and Jongdae were standing in front of a big dried up pond. It was pretty big.

“Wow! A dried up watering hole.” Baekhyun said as he stood next to them.

Minseok looked it over and reminisced about the wonderful times he used to have here when he was a knight. It was also the very first place he had gotten a glimpse of how Jongin felt over Chanyeol. He had dove into the water to save him without even thinking about his own safety.

“I wonder if Monalets would come here.” Kyungsoo questioned as he looked it over.

Minseok let out a scoff as he looked over at Kyungsoo. The latter couldn’t even begin to imagine. They used to have wonderful adventures when they were able to get away. They would come here to destress and it was also the place where they first began to see Kyungsoo’s feelings towards Baekhyun, much like now.

“You think they would come here when they snuck out? The Solaris prince was notorious for that.” Baekhyun said as he bent down and touched where the water used to be.

Jongdae scoffed. Baekhyun was very tough to keep still. He would constantly want to be anywhere but sitting down. He was the best when it came to escaping without getting caught. He hadn’t changed at all. Even in this lifetime, he was still just as playful and bright.

“Maybe.” Jongdae answered.

Minseok and Jongdae wanted so badly to hold them tight in their arms. The day that they had found them in the grass was one of their worst memories. But they wouldn’t rush anything. Maybe they would remember, maybe they wouldn’t, only time would tell.

***

Jongin walked side by side with Chanyeol as they wandered into the forest together. The forest itself was big and serene. His eyes wandered around, with a smile on his face as he looked it over. It seemed like those enchanted forests that one would see in a movie.

Chanyeol seemed to be leading the way and Jongin followed slightly behind.

“Have you been here before?” Jongin asked.

Chanyeol shook his head, “No, I’m just walking forward.”

Jongin giggled as he caught up to him, “What if we get lost?”

Chanyeol looked over at him, “We won’t.”

Jongin wasn’t too sure if that was right. They had been walking through the forest for what seemed like a couple of minutes now. They had maneuvered through twists and turns, but Chanyeol didn’t seem at all worried. Chanyeol’s confidence made Jongin feel secure. In fact, being around the latter made him feel safe.

“It should be here…” Chanyeol whispered.

“What should be here?”

“Huh?”

“You said it should be here.” Jongin stood in front of him and smirked, “What exactly are you looking for?” He walked backwards as Chanyeol continued walking forward.

Chanyeol scoffed, “Something I read in a book once.”

“Oh really? What is—?” Jongin stopped midsentence as he suddenly felt himself falling backwards. His eyes widened and saw Chanyeol’s face drop.

Chanyeol leaped forward and pulled on Jongin’s hand to keep him from falling. Jongin felt as Chanyeol pressed him into his chest and his grip on him tightened. Chanyeol squeezed tight and let out a sigh, “Be more careful Jongin. You could have hit your head on something and—“

Jongin blinked as he felt his face heating up. He looked up and saw Chanyeol looking forward at something. His mouth was open and eyes wide. A smile began to form and Jongin parted from him to see what he was looking at.

“Oh my gosh…” Chanyeol whispered as he walked towards a tall shrub.

Jongin raised an eyebrow as Chanyeol brushed the shrub with his hand. It was about as tall as them, and as wide as a queen sized bed. “What?”

Chanyeol turned back to look at him, eyes a bit glossy. “Come with me.”

“Where?”

Chanyeol got onto his knees and slowly forced his head into the shrub.

Jongin’s eyes widened and he bent down to get to Chanyeol’s level. “What are you doing?!”

Chanyeol grabbed Jongin’s wrist and pulled him. At first Jongin resisted, but then he felt the wind pushing him. Something familiar suddenly compelled him to enter the shrub. He allowed Chanyeol to pull him inside and was soon engulfed by darkness. He shut his eyes and let Chanyeol pull him.

He didn’t open his eyes until he felt light hit his face. He was on all fours and Chanyeol was on his feet with his hands covering his mouth. Jongin’s eyes wandered the area and they landed on a big tree that was right in the center.

Chanyeol let out whimper and ran to it. Jongin stood up slowly and turned around. Behind him was the hole that he had just entered from. How had Chanyeol known that there was a clearing behind that shrub?

He looked back to find Chanyeol leaning against the tree, covering his eyes. Was he…crying?

“Chanyeol?”

Jongin took a step forward, but a calming sound caught his attention and he turned his head towards it. A small stream made a gentle and alluring sound. It was almost as if it beckoned him to get closer.

He doesn’t know what made him do it, but he suddenly found himself walking towards that small stream. Once he reached it, he saw ducklings that followed their mother and small fish swimming around.

He bit his bottom lip as his heart accelerated and palms got sweaty. Why was he so nervous? He bent down slowly and gently placed his hand into the pond. The cool water engulfed his hand and traveled up to his wrist. He smiled and let his hand drop deeper, and that was all it took for his memories to come back.

At first, they started like flashes. It began with how he saved that boy from this very place eons ago. And then it lead up to how he grew to fall in love with that boy and then lose him due to a mistake. An error on his part.

He remembered how he loved his brother and prince beyond words and slowly began to also love the people they were supposed to hate.

His last memory was of how Taemin held him one last time…and then suddenly…he was reborn…

He blinked as the memories finally settled and reality sunk in…HE was the Monalet knight.

He swallowed and his eyes stayed fixated on his hand. He suddenly blinked, let out a gasp and threw his hand back as he shook it. His breath came out uneasy as he finally realized why Chanyeol was crying by the tree. So this is why he wasn’t scared of getting lost. Chanyeol already remembered his way around this forest, because they had been in here countless of times before.

“Jongin?”

Jongin jumped at the voice and his own eyes watered.

Chanyeol placed his hand on Jongin’s shoulder. “Are you ok?”

“You broke your promise…” he mumbled.

“Hm? Sorry, you said that too quietly.”

Jongin reached up, grabbed Chanyeol’s hand, and squeezed.

“You broke your promise.” Jongin stood up abruptly and turned to face Chanyeol. His eyes stung with tears as he looked over Chanyeol. Oh God…he missed him so much…and he didn’t even remember until now.

“You promised to meet me here! And you didn’t!” Jongin shouted as he pounded on Chanyeol’s chest. He dropped his face as he began sobbing. “You promised to be alright and then meet me in the secret clearing, but you lied! You weren’t alright! You were behead—“Jongin couldn’t finish his sentence and instead swallowed the lump in his throat.

Chanyeol scoffed as he felt the tears falling down his own cheeks. “You remember?”

Jongin shoved him and looked up to face him, “You’re an idiot Chanyeol!”

Chanyeol shook his head, “Me? I’m not the one that poisoned myself!” He grabbed Jongin by the waist and pulled him in. “I made a promise years ago to protect you and I intend to keep it forever.”

Jongin’s eyes were wide as they looked into Chanyeol’s. The latter was still just the same…just as handsome as before. Chanyeol still loved him. Just that thought alone made Jongin tear up in joy.

Jongin hugged him tight as he leaned his head onto his shoulder. It was his Chanyeol, the one he had fallen in love with so many years ago. He was here and in a way…he did keep his promise.

“I will love you forever.” Chanyeol told him.

Jongin pressed himself into Chanyeol and shut his eyes. His scent had changed slightly, but it was still his Chanyeol.

“You’re mine Kim Jongin.”

“And you’re mine Park Chanyeol.”

***

Sehun and Taemin walked around the ruins of Solaris. They were free to explore wherever they wanted, but they felt compelled to walk around the ruins.

They walked in silence, neither of them saying a word. They instead took in the sight of everything they once knew.

“Do you remember everything?” Taemin asked.

“Yes.”

Taemin scoffed, “It’s crazy huh…how they’re all here.”

Sehun nodded. Jiwon and Jisoo were somewhere among them exploring something else. They were a couple that had met in this time without knowing that they were citizens of Solaris at one point and had a child together.

“Jackson and Jinhwan are here…and they don’t even know that they played a role in this. They would be devastated if they knew the truth.” Taemin said, interrupting Sehun’s thoughts.

Sehun licked his lips as he looked up and saw what was left of his shed. It once stood on its own and was somewhere he would retreat to. Now, it was abandoned and alone. The last time he was inside as the priestess’s son, he was about to lose his life. He was saved, by nothing short of a miracle. He truly believes that he was supposed to die that day.

He pierced his lips together and looked over at Taemin. The latter was looking at the shed but then his head turned to lock eyes with Sehun.

Sehun gulped and leaned in a bit. Taemin stayed motionless, but suddenly realized what Sehun was trying to do.

“Sehun?”

Sehun placed his hand on Taemin’s cheek and leaned in closer. Taemin grew nervous and parted his lips open, Sehun shut his eyes and got even closer, centimeters away from Taemin’s lips. He could do this, right? It was the least he could do…

His hands began to get shaky and he willed himself forward, but not before Taemin grabbed his hands and threw himself back.

“Sehun stop.”

Sehun’s eyes blinked open and he stared at Taemin who had his head down. 

“But, isn’t this what you want?”

Taemin stiffened and his grip on Sehun’s hand tightened.

“I—I know Taemin.”

Taemin slowly dropped his hands and released Sehun’s hands in the process. “When did you find out?”

“After I survived, you saved me that day, didn’t you?”

Taemin doesn’t remember well what happened. But he does remember seeing Sehun facing the head knight. He thought it had been a dream. Could it be that his spirit visited Sehun to help him out of his own death?

“I tried forever to figure out who saved me that day. Whose voice that belonged to. I would like to believe it was my mom, but I realized she went to the Sun Goddess’s side much too quickly for it to be her. And then Minseok told me up in the mountains how strong your feelings were and then it all clicked.”

Taemin pierced his lips together and his palms got sweaty. Perhaps it hadn’t been a dream. He had saved Sehun that day.

“After it clicked, I felt so guilty. I couldn’t believe that I had treated you so poorly. You loved me and I would tell you of the one I loved. It must have been torture for you.”

Taemin couldn’t deny that it did hurt when he knew that Sehun was in love with another. But in the end, all he ever wanted was Sehun’s happiness.

“So in this life, I want to love you as you love me.” Sehun said.

Taemin’s jaw tightened and his fists pressed to his side.

“You saved my life, it’s the least I can do.”

“No.”

“What?”

“No Sehun. It’s wrong to force someone to love someone else.”

Sehun gulped and shook his head, “I was so cruel to you. And I’m sure I can fall in love with you.”

Taemin shook his head as he sighed. “Sehun, you were gonna kiss me, not because you love me, but because you feel you owe me because I saved your life?”

Sehun knew that the answer was yes. But he refused to actually say it out loud.

“I would save your life over and over again Sehun. Because I want you to be happy. Even if it’s not by my side. I know you still love him. When you saw him again at that restaurant, what was the first thing you told me?”

Sehun bit his bottom lip, unsure of what to answer. He had already hurt Taemin, that wasn’t his intention.

“I learned what happens to someone when they refuse to accept a rejection. All I want is your happiness Sehun.” He looked up and his eyes shined with how glossy they were. He smiled wide and said, “I know it won’t be by my side. And that’s ok.”

Sehun’s own eyes watered and he looked down, “I’m sorry…”

Taemin shook his head, “There is nothing to be sorry for. I’ll find the one for me one day. And you don’t have to feel bad for loving another.”

Sehun sniffled and wiped at the tear that rolled down his cheek. He looked up and sent Taemin a big smile. “Thank you Taemin.”

Taemin grabbed his hand and squeezed tight. He leaned in and embraced the other as he shut his eyes. Sehun wasn’t the one for him. And that was alright. He had already come to terms with that. He was content with knowing that he didn’t have a future with Sehun. And now he could move on and find his own soulmate.

***

“Minseok,” Jongin called out once they all met up again.

Minseok turned to look at his brother and immediately noticed the hand that was interlocked with Chanyeol’s.

He pierced his lips together and looked up again. Jongdae, Sehun, and Taemin were behind him and noticed right away the glint in Jongin’s eyes, the confidence that he suddenly emanated.

“Jongin?”

Jongin scoffed once he stood in front of him, “Chanyeol told me everything.”

“Everything?”

“I’m sorry I made you worry.” Jongin said.

Jongin grabbed Minseok and pulled him in, falling into his elder brother’s arms.

Minseok hugged him tight and he realized what was going on. His tears fell as he scrunched up his face and squeezed him tight.

They parted and Jongin sniffled, “I love you Minseok.”

Minseok smiled and wiped at his tears, “I love you too Jongin.” He extended his hand and took Jongin’s.

Jongin’s eyes looked up at Taemin and he jumped as Taemin’s eyes watered.

Jongin felt his lip quiver, “I don’t blame you for anything Taemin.”

Taemin walked over to him and buried his face into his shoulder, “I’m so sorry Jongin.”

Jongin straightened up and smiled, “It’s ok. It really is. We live a completely new life now. Whatever happened back then doesn’t matter.”

Minseok scoffed as he held his hand tight. His little brother had officially remembered everything.

“We missed you Jongin.” Jongdae said as he patted his back.

Jongin chuckled and leaned into the elder’s touch. He was finally back. He now understood why they had been huddling so close together before.

Sehun ran and hugged Jongin from behind. He didn’t say anything, but he snuggled into Jongin’s shoulder.

Jongin chuckled as he rubbed his cheek against Sehun’s.

“Guys! It’s time to go!” Baekhyun shouted as he called them over.

The six friends all looked to see Baekhyun and Kyungsoo standing next to each other. Kyungsoo was practically leaning on his shoulder.

Chanyeol scoffed, “We’ll be there in a bit.”

They both turned around to catch up to the professor, giggling at a joke Kyungsoo made.

Jongin scoffed and shook his head, “When they get their memories back, they’re gonna go crazy for each other.”

***

It was time for all of them to meet up with the professor. He said that he wanted to show them something before the sun set. They walked towards a place that everyone was excited to see.

The six friends recognized the path right away.

“This…” the professor began, “Is where the princes were said to have gotten married.”

Baekhyun’s eyes wandered around the area and they landed on the altar straight in the center. There was moss all over it and the paint was chipping off. It was worn out and time had definetly taken its toll on the old altar. It was atop a small pond that surrounded the walkway and altar. The small pond was home to fish that swam in it and frogs that hopped around on lily pads. The sun shined down on it and made it glisten.

“Wow…” Baekhyun mouthed as he walked towards it. He had never seen something so majestic before. He could only imagine what it looked like the day of the prince’s wedding.

There was a chain that denied entry onto the old walkway. It needed to be preserved and well taken care of to make sure that it stayed standing for many more years to come. He understood that one shouldn’t walk on it, but he wanted so badly to.

“I wish I could go to the altar.” Kyungsoo said from next to him.

Baekhyun smiled, “Me too.”

“This is crazy. We are standing where they stood.

Baekhyun nodded, “I know.” His eyes swayed to where the cabin was. The one that was used for them to consummate their marriage. The staff and sash that the prince’s had signed were inside. Soon, those items would be taken to a museum for everyone to see.

Sehun, Chanyeol, and Jongdae all crowded the cabin. They were allowed to go inside, he doesn’t understand why they weren’t.

“I’m going to check out the cabin.” Baekhyun said as he looked over at Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo nodded in response, “I’ll catch up. I just want to take a few pictures of the altar.”

Baekhyun stepped away from the chain he was leaning on and made his way towards the cabin. He had seen it in images online so many times. It was almost as if he had been here before.

“Hey guys, you going in?” Baekhyun questioned as he patted Chanyeol and Jongdae’s back.

The trio that was crowding by the entrance jumped and looked over at him wide eyed.

“Er…yeah.” Chanyeol responded.

“Then let’s go.” Baekhyun said as he made his way inside. He noticed as the trio behind him hesitantly took a step inside and looked around. They seemed nervous, but he couldn’t blame them. This was the cabin where the prince’s had consummated their marriage.

“I wonder if they moved things around, or if it was exactly like this.”

Jongdae chuckled, “Who knows.”

Baekhyun eyed the bed that was still dusty, with sheets that were much too raggedy and worn. Perhaps they did leave it as they found it. Below was the hole that they dug up that had all of the letters and trinkets. In the corner were the items that were found.

“Wow…are those the actual letters?” Baekhyun walked over to them. They were behind a glass and one was unable to touch. Not that he wanted to, he knew that they may wear away if not preserved properly.

He did his best to try and read the ancient language, but it was no use. He knew that archeologist were able to decipher it, but he didn’t have the time to study the language. He always pushed it off. Now he wishes that he had studied more.

His eyes wafted to the staff and sash that had their signature written on it. After all this time, the writing was still able to stay on. “Wow…” he mouthed. If only he could read it.

His eyes stayed on it and suddenly his vision began to blur. He blinked and it returned to normal. That was strange.

_I promise to forever be there for you._

Baekhyun blinked and turned around. The trio was staring at him with their lips pierced together. It almost seemed that they were holding their breath. Baekhyun giggled and asked them, “Did you guys say something?”

The trio shook their heads. Baekhyun raised an eyebrow and looked back at the sash. Whatever was wrong with them, he wasn’t about to pry. His mind was elsewhere.

His vision once again blurred and he felt lightheaded. He shook it and straightened up. Maybe he hadn’t drank enough water today.

_You are my world now._

Just where was that voice coming from? He turned around and saw that they still had their mouths shut. He held his head as he began to hear more voices. They seemed to be overlapping one another. “What?” He mouthed out loud.

Something suddenly told him to look back at the items that were dug up. He quickly obeyed and that’s when every single memory was thrown all at once at him.

He…was the Solaris prince.


	12. Chapter 12

Baekhyun felt as the flood of memories suddenly returned to him. His eyes watered as he remembered everything. His days as a child in the castle, all the way up to his death.

“I—I was the Solaris prince.” He said barely above a whisper.

He bit his bottom lip as the tears began to fall uncontrollably. Their plan…had failed…

“Baekhyun?”

Baekhyun’s eyes darted up to look at Chanyeol, Jongdae, and Sehun. Their eyes were wide as they looked him over. 

They gulped and Jongdae uttered, “Your highness?”

Baekhyun crumbled at the word and fell into their arms. They did remember.

“We—“ Baekhyun hiccupped as he tried to speak. He could barely breathe, let alone speak.

“Shhh…Baekhyun calm down. That was the old us. We have a completely new life now.” Chanyeol whispered as he rubbed his back.

Baekhyun swallowed as he nodded. He was no longer the Solaris prince. He was now the reincarnation of him. He parted from them and let out a sigh. He eyed the three of them. Sehun still had that familiar innocence in his eyes. Baekhyun giggled as another tear fell. He sniffled and let his eyes sway to Chanyeol. The latter was right in front of him and Baekhyun refused to let go of his hand. Chanyeol scoffed as he lifted a finger to wipe under Baekhyun’s eye. “Yah Baekhyun. I’m here ok? You don’t have to lose me again.”

Baekhyun swallowed and nodded. The memory of Chanyeol had barely resurfaced and his heart felt heavy thinking about it. His eyes landed on Jongdae and he sent him a small smile, “You survived?”

Jongdae grinned at him as his eyes watered, “Yes.”

Baekhyun chuckled and looked over at Sehun, “So did you.”

Sehun nodded as he grinned.

“I’m glad.” Baekhyun told him as he rubbed Sehun’s cheek with his hand.

He looked back at the sash and staff behind the glass. Those two items must have triggered his memory. Their initials were still on them and they were a bit wore down, but now, he could read them. He gasped as he suddenly realized that there were two items that weren’t behind the glass. He perked up and asked, “Where are the crystals?”

Jongdae blinked and tilted his head to the side. He remembered those crystals. The ones used during the wedding ceremony. He is certain that he placed them here with them. “Minseok and I buried you and Kyungsoo here along with everything, including those crystals.”

Baekhyun’s eyes widened at the mention of Kyungsoo’s name. His prince…

He looked out the door and his eyes widened. A couple of feet away was his prince. He was speaking to another student, eyes squinting and grin wide. He had the same dazzling smile and tender eyes. Baekhyun looked him over and realized that he was still just as handsome as he was in his past life. His heart skipped a beat and he felt a smile sprawl across his lips. His feelings for Kyungsoo had not changed one bit.

“Kyungsoo…” He whispered as he grinned wide and his eyes watered once more. “Kyungsoo…”

He sniffled and made a beeline towards the latter. He sprinted towards Kyungsoo, but suddenly felt someone tug him from behind.

“Baekhyun, stop.” Chanyeol said in a serious tone.

Baekhyun was forced to stop in his tracks as Jongdae and Chanyeol grabbed onto him and pulled him back.

“What are you doing? Let go!”

Their grip on him tightened. “He doesn’t remember you Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun’s eyes widened and he shook his head, “Yes he does!” he struggled as he did his best to escape their grip. He needed to get to his prince. They had sworn to find one another again. He had waited so long…he would not wait another second. “He’s mine!”

“Baekhyun, you WERE his everything. Now, you are just his friend.” Jongdae gripped him tight as Baekhyun began to kick and lean forward. He was surprised no one had turned to look at them.

Baekhyun shook his head, “NO! I am still his everything!” He remembered how his prince would look at him with loving eyes and how he was willing to sacrifice his own life just to make Baekhyun happy. Kyungsoo was his world, just as Baekhyun was Kyungsoo’s world.

“Baekhyun, stop! You are going to make a scene.” Chanyeol whispered harshly.

He didn’t care. He wanted Kyungsoo. He wanted so badly to cradle him and wrap his arms around him. He continued fighting them, trying to escape their grip. Kyungsoo was within reach…just a couple more steps and he could grab him and kiss him.

Sehun watched from behind them with his eyes wide. It was devastating to see how much Baekhyun loved Kyungsoo. He was doing whatever he could to get to him. Sehun knew it would be bad, but he didn’t expect this.

“Baekhyun!” Jongdae scolded, “You are no longer the Solaris prince! And he is no longer the Monalet prince! He does not love you anymore!”

Baekhyun stiffened as the weight of those words began to settle in. Kyungsoo was no longer his prince. They had vowed to cherish each other in their past life, until death parted them. Death had already done so. They were now reborn as completely different people. Even if he did get to Kyungsoo, the latter would surely reject him. That thought stung worse than anything.

He let his body go limp and their grip on him loosened.

Kyungsoo turned his back to Baekhyun and he walked further away. He hadn’t even noticed that Baekhyun was trying to get to him. Baekhyun was merely a classmate…a friend that he had a small crush on.

Baekhyun’s lip quivered. Why did he deserve such a curse? Why should he remember everything while his prince prances around and remembers nothing of their love story?

“Will he remember?” Baekhyun asked as he fell to his knees.

Jongdae sighed, “I don’t know. I don’t even know how it works. But Kyungsoo is the only one that hasn’t remembered anything.”

Baekhyun looked down at the ground in defeat. What could he possibly do? It was a lost cause. He let out a sigh and looked at Kyungsoo as he took pictures of the altar that they married at. “What did I do to deserve such cruelty?” Baekhyun put his head down into his hand. He cried softly into it.

“Baekhyun…” Sehun called out softly as he bent down next to him. There was nothing he could possibly say to ease the pain. So he instead placed his hand on Baekhyun’s back.

Kyungsoo looked down at his phone to admire his pictures of the altar. He would definetly make a scrapbook of today. He turned his head to see Baekhyun on the ground. Chanyeol and Jongdae stood over him as they bit their lip. Sehun was next to him, rubbing small circles into his back.

Kyungsoo tilted his head as he walked towards them, “Baekhyun?”

Baekhyun shuttered at his voice. How could he face him? It was impossible to look him in the eyes now.

Kyungsoo got closer, “Baekhyun?”

Baekhyun bit his lip as the tears swelled up in his eyes. He cleared his throat and swallowed the lump in it. He loved Kyungsoo more than words could ever describe. He swore to find him again and he did. This was a second chance. Even if Kyungsoo didn’t remember, Baekhyun would make him fall all over again.

He looked up and smiled, “Yes?”

Kyungsoo furrowed his brows, his heart suddenly clenching at the sight of Baekhyun so sad. “What’s wrong?”

“I just—“ Baekhyun stood up and Sehun made sure that he didn’t stumble. “I fell and hit my head.”

“Oh!” Kyungsoo got closer and placed his hands gently on the side of Baekhyun’s temples. Baekhyun’s watery eyes widened as he realized how determined Kyungsoo was to make him feel better. He rubbed small circles into his temples as his eyes furrowed behind his glasses. “Better?”

Baekhyun swallowed and wiped at his eyes, “Yeah.”

Kyungsoo smiled, “Do I have to protect you from everything? I take my eyes off of you for a couple of minutes and you’re falling on your head.”

Baekhyun chuckled. _Please never take your eyes off of me Kyungsoo._ He wanted to be on the receiving end of Kyungsoo’s gaze forever. “I think you do.”

Kyungsoo scoffed and playfully punched his shoulder, “That was a rhetorical question you idiot.”

“Hey guys, is everything ok?” Minseok asked with Jongin and Taemin next to him.

Baekhyun and Kyungsoo both looked at them. One look at Baekhyun and that’s all they needed to know that he remembered. His body was practically pressed onto Kyungsoo. And he leaned easily into him, almost as if they were a married couple, but it seemed one sided. Kyungsoo had no idea that Baekhyun was madly in love with him.

Baekhyun sniffled and smiled at them. “We’re fine.” He responded.

Kyungsoo looked over at him, “We?” He parted, “You hit your head.”

Baekhyun giggled, “Yeah, but someone helped me feel a lot of better.” He winked.

Kyungsoo felt a slight blush appear on his cheeks and he looked away, “I’m going into the cabin to check it out…”

“I’ll go with you.” Baekhyun said as he walked next to Kyungsoo.

Jongin let out a laugh and stood next to Chanyeol. He wrapped his arm into the latter’s, “Baekhyun remembers, doesn’t he?”

Chanyeol nodded, “What was the first hint?”

Jongin giggled, “He isn’t going to let Kyungsoo get away is he?”

Chanyeol shook his head, “Nope.”

Baekhyun and Kyungsoo both walked into the cabin to see that a classmate was inside looking over the artifacts. It was the homophobic guy from class but they refused to let him ruin this. They looked over the other things in the cabin instead.

“Was this the actual bed do you think?” Kyungsoo asked as he bent down and tried to get a better look.

Baekhyun shrugged, “It looks like it. Isn’t it crazy to think they consummated their marriage here?” Such beautiful memories…and now Baekhyun could remember each one with such clarity. His eyes wafted to Kyungsoo. He knew every inch of the latter’s body. He was so beautiful…

“Can you guys keep your gay shit away from me.” A voice suddenly burst in out of nowhere.

They blinked and looked over at the source of it. Their classmate was eyeing them with a disgusted look on his face.

Kyungsoo pierced his lips together and looked away.

“No one told you to eavesdrop. And besides what’s so ‘gay’ about stating facts?” Baekhyun responded back.

Their classmate scoffed and shook his head, “You can be really annoying Baekhyun.”

“Funny,” Baekhyun scoffed, “I was thinking the same about you.”

Kyungsoo stood in between the both of them and stuck his hands out, “Let’s not do this here…”

“Fuck off Kyungsoo. No one was talking to you.”

Baekhyun’s teeth gritted together and his fists tightened at his sides. He placed his hand on Kyungsoo’s shoulder and got in front of the classmate. Baekhyun made sure Kyungsoo was behind him. He was not about to let anyone disrespect Kyungsoo.

Baekhyun straightened up and his eyes glared into the classmate. “You don’t talk to him like that, do you understand?”

“Or what?”

Baekhyun got up to his face and his jaw tightened. His eyes narrowed and his brows furrowed.

“I’ll fuck you up.” He said seriously, not a hint of a smile on his face.

“I’m not scared of your gay ass Baekhyun.”

“Let’s take this outside then.”

Kyungsoo grabbed Baekhyun and pulled on him, “Alright, that’s enough.” When Baekhyun felt Kyungsoo’s hand, he eased up a bit. But his defense was still up. If there was any risk towards Kyungsoo, he would quickly jump in to make sure that no harm would befall him. 

Kyungsoo managed to tug him outside to get away from the classmate. Baekhyun’s eyes never left the latter’s gaze and his stance never softened.

The classmate followed and once outside, got up in Baekhyun’s face again.

“The professor isn’t looking Baekhyun, I’m about to kick your ass.”

“I’d like to see you try.” A deep voice said from behind Baekhyun. Baekhyun smirked as he realized that they had ALL gotten their memory but Kyungsoo.

Chanyeol and Jongdae quickly stood next to Baekhyun, eyes digging holes into the classmate. “I dare you to touch him.” Chanyeol said.

Kyungsoo stood behind them in confusion. All this was starting because he was told to fuck off. It wasn’t a big deal, it really wasn’t. There was no reason for Baekhyun to feel like he needed defending. He suddenly noticed that Minseok and Jongin were next to him. They had their fists at their side and their stance showed that they were ready to spring into action.

“I’ll kick your ass too Chanyeol. You think I’m scared of you?”

“Do it.” Jongin hollered out. “Lay a finger on him and I swear you’ll be waking up in the hospital after today.”

The classmate’s eyes roamed around each of them and he realized that he was outnumbered. He let out a scoff and licked his lips. “You guys aren’t worth my time…” he said as he turned around and walked away.

Baekhyun chuckled as he shook his head.

“What happen?” Chanyeol asked.

“He disrespected Kyungsoo.” Baekhyun answered as his eyes stayed on the classmate.

Jongdae scoffed, “Of course…” 

“Are you ok Kyungsoo?” Minseok asked as he turned to face him.

Kyungsoo looked between his friends and nodded, “It wasn’t a big deal. There was no reason to get so worked up.”

Baekhyun looked back at him and smiled. If only Kyungsoo knew that Baekhyun would do anything for him. He had allowed someone to hurt him before, this time it would be different. He would never allow anyone to disrespect his prince again.

“He started it though.” Baekhyun responded.

Kyungsoo blinked and shook his head, “Still, you shouldn’t fight for me like that.”

Jongin scoffed. If only Kyungsoo knew…

***

“How was today?” Chanyeol asked as he laid next to Jongin. He had convinced Jongin to sleep next to him in his tent after they had come back from exploring around. Minseok had been against it at first, but soon agreed to the arrangement after much coaxing from Chanyeol. But the deal was that Minseok would sleep in the same tent as well.

“It was…eye opening.” Jongin responded. He never thought that HE would be the reincarnation of a knight from Monalet or the fact that he had died under such horrible circumstances. The feelings from before came back as well. They were still so strong within him.

“Is Minseok asleep?” Chanyeol asked.

Jongin looked over to his find his older brother snoring softly. His mouth was slowly parted and his chest went up and down slowly.

Jongin smiled and placed the blanket higher up to Minseok’s chin. “He is definetly asleep.”

“He must have been really distraught from before. It’s probably why he is so protective of you now.”

Jongin pierced his lips together as his eyes looked over Minseok. He can’t even begin to imagine the agony he put him through back then.

“But that’s all over.” Chanyeol said as he wrapped his arms around him and pulled him in. “We have a chance to start new.”

Jongin smiled as he snuggled in close. “Yeah. Baekhyun is all up on Kyungsoo already.”

Chanyeol chuckled softly. “Did you see how his eyes lit up when he realized he would be sleeping alone with Kyungsoo in a tent?”

Jongin nodded, “I know. It’s only a matter of time before Kyungsoo is the same.”

A couple of tents away, Baekhyun was in his sleeping bag. He was making jokes and telling stories to Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo’s laughter was the one thing that was giving him motivation to continue.

“And then what did you do?” Kyungsoo asked as his smile got wider.

“Well, what any normal guy would do. I decided to sell my number to all of the girls in school.”

Kyungsoo covered up his face with his blanket and rolled around. “You are crazy Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun giggled and sat up, “I was desperate ok?”

Kyungsoo nodded and sighed, “I believe it.” He let out a small yawn and shut his eyes. “I think it’s time to sleep.”

Baekhyun grinned and settled himself back in his sleeping bag. “I think so too.”

Kyungsoo settled himself into the sleeping bag and let out a sigh as he looked up.

Baekhyun kept his gaze on him. His jawline, eyes, lips…everything was still the same. He was still so handsome…so perfect.

Kyungsoo turned his head to look into Baekhyun’s adoring eyes. He had a small smile on his face. “What?” Kyungsoo asked shyly. “What are you looking at?”

Baekhyun tilted his head, smiled wider, and blinked. “You.” He responded.

Kyungsoo covered his face with the blanket as he felt himself blushing. “Stop…” He whispered. Baekhyun was looking at him as if he was the most precious jewel in the world. It made Kyungsoo nervous. It made him feel…strange. “We need to sleep.”

Baekhyun giggled, “You’re the one that asked.”

Kyungsoo uncovered his face and looked back at him, “But I’m too nervous to sleep.”

Baekhyun pouted, “Are you still having nightmares?”

Kyungsoo nodded, “Yeah. They been coming more frequently too.”

Baekhyun now understood what those dreams were. They weren’t dreams at all, but memories of eons ago. Kyungsoo was probably being shown the terrible memories of back then instead of the happy ones.

“Well…maybe I could help.” Baekhyun said as he sat up.

Kyungsoo looked up at him, “How?”

Baekhyun wanted so badly to cradle him in his arms and tell him that everything was alright. But he knew that he needed to get over his past life. He had a whole new life now and nodded to start new. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t bring up stories.

“I’ll tell you a bed time story.”

Kyungsoo giggled, but nonetheless placed his head to rest on Baekhyun’s lap. He shut his eyes and smiled. “I guess we could try that.”

Baekhyun smiled fondly as his eyes softened and he rubbed Kyungsoo’s hair. He softly tugged on every strand and Kyungsoo let out another soft yawn.

“Well…I’ll tell you the story of a prince. A prince that was raised to be tough and ruthless. But he was the complete opposite. He hated violence and most of all, he hated ‘hate’. His parents were never happy with him. He did his best to make them content, but nothing he did was ever good enough for them. He was told he had to rule his kingdom hating the neighboring one. So, he did as he told to try and make his parents happy. He hated the other kingdom without understanding much about it. He was ignorant.”

“Until one day, he did something foolish. While out on his lands, he heard someone crying and followed the sound to find someone scared and lost. It turned out that the lost guy was the prince from the kingdom he was supposed to hate.”

Baekhyun gently rubbed at Kyungsoo’s nape and Kyungsoo let out a soft exhale.

“He was told all his life to hate him so he decided to do what he had been raised to do. He pulled out his sword, but couldn’t bring himself to harm the latter. He committed a big mistake…the best mistake of his life, he helped the prince return home.”

“He soon considered the latter his best friend. But what he didn’t realize was that he did not love him like a friend. He loved him as something much more. He kept his feelings hidden until one day the rival prince showed him that he felt the same way. They promised to speak of it no more, but they couldn’t hide their feelings any longer. They made it public to those they trusted.”

Baekhyun’s eyes looked down at Kyungsoo who had his eyes barely open. He let out another soft yawn as he snuggled into Baekhyun. “And then? What happened?”

Baekhyun smiled as he slowly picked Kyungsoo up and laid him in his sleeping bag. Kyungsoo smiled as Baekhyun lifted up the blanket all the way to his chin. And Kyungsoo pressed himself into the sleeping bag and shut his eyes.

“Finish it Baekhyun. Then we can both go to sleep.”

Baekhyun chuckled and turned off the small flashlight that was their source of light. Now it became dark and Baekhyun’s eyes adjusted to make sure he could see Kyungsoo.

“Well…after they told those they loved, the prince proposed to his lover. And soon they married.”

Baekhyun looked over at Kyungsoo who was barely awake at this point.

“And believe me when I say that the prince in this story loved his prince more than anything in this world. It was a love so strong, that no matter what happened, he would never stop loving him. His love was stronger than the rays of sun that shined down on his kingdom every day. I swear to you that this prince loved him until day he died…”

Kyungsoo sent him a small smile and shut his eyes.

Baekhyun laid down in his sleeping bag and whispered softly, “And still loves him to this very day.”

***

Jongdae walked out of his tent and stretched as he shut his eyes. The sun was barely beginning to rise and he had woken up earlier than everyone else. This would be the very last day that they would be here. They would be packing up tomorrow and leave at night when their flight departed.

Jongdae shook his head as he let out a small yawn.

“Jongdae?” A voice called out.

Jongdae blinked and faced Baekhyun who was walking towards him with something in his hand. “What are you doing up?”

Baekhyun giggled, “I could ask you the same thing.”

Jongdae scoffed, “I woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep. So I decided to get fresh air. You?” Jongdae’s eyes floated down and he saw a tangerine in Baekhyun’s hand. He raised an eyebrow and looked back up to Baekhyun’s eyes. “Is that a tangerine?”

Baekhyun nodded, “Yup. It’s for Kyungsoo.”

Jongdae let out a loud laugh as he shook his head. “Please don’t tell me it’s what I think it is.”

Baekhyun blushed and looked away, “No! ...maybe….”

“So in our past life our first meal with them included a tangerine. So you think this might trigger his memory?”

Baekhyun gulped and wet his lips. His eyes were still on the ground unable to face Jongdae.

“Baekhyun, you can’t force it. We don’t even know how it works. There might even be a chance that he may not get his memory. I mean, we already visited both kingdoms, the first fountain, the place he would swim with Jongin and Minseok, and the place he married you.”

Baekhyun twisted his mouth to the side. He knows that it’s wrong to force him into loving him again.

But the reality is, that they live completely new lives. Kyungsoo owes him nothing. Those promises from before were from the Monalet prince to the Solaris prince. Not from student Kyungsoo to student Baekhyun.

“Baekhyun?”

Baekhyun looked up and smiled at him. “You’re right.”

Jongdae bit his bottom lip. He knew that Baekhyun would try and smile away the pain he was feeling. All of those feelings had returned when his memories had.

“But…you can still give him the tangerine.”

Baekhyun nodded, “Yeah, I know.”

Jongdae pierced his lips as he jammed his hands into his pockets. His eyes widened as he suddenly remembered what he had put in them yesterday. “Oh! Baekhyun, there is something I want to give you.”

Baekhyun nodded as he got closer, “What is it?”

“I found it after everyone left the cabin yesterday.” Jongdae pulled out his hand from his pocket. His hand was in a small fist as he gripped something tightly. Baekhyun stayed staring at his hand and gasped when Jongdae opened it.

“I guess the archeologists must have thought that these crystals didn’t mean anything while they were digging.”

Baekhyun snatched both the pink crystals from his hand and couldn’t stop looking at them. They were still just as beautiful as the day they had given them to each other.

Jongdae chuckled, “I thought it would be best to give them to you. You can decide what you do with them.”

Baekhyun bit his lip as he looked down at the two crystals. How could they still shine so bright even after all of this time?

“Baekhyun, Jongdae? You’re both awake already?” The professor asked as he walked towards them.

They both looked over at him and smiled, “Yes.”

“We woke up and couldn’t fall back asleep.”

The professor scoffed. “I was gonna check on breakfast. You can begin waking up the ones in your tent if you like?”

They both agreed and ran back into their tents. Baekhyun a little too eagerly.

“Kyungsoo,” He whispered softly.

Kyungsoo let out a sigh. He was already half awake. His eyes fluttered open and he let out yawn.

It took everything in Baekhyun to not lean down and scoop him up in his arms. He wanted so badly to place kisses everywhere on his face, especially now that he looked so groggy.

Kyungsoo sat up in bed, his lips out in a pout and rubbed at his eyes. His black hair was pointing in every direction. “What time is it?”

Kyungsoo’s deep groggy voice had Baekhyun swooning on the inside. But he kept his composure and merely smiled at him, “Time to get up and get ready for breakfast.”

Kyungsoo nodded as wet his lips. He pouted even more and looked down at Baekhyun’s hands.

“Oh! I brought you something.” Baekhyun said as he stuck his hand out. The tangerine was practically shoved into Kyungsoo’s face. “It’s a tangerine.”

Kyungsoo chuckled as he took it in his hands. “Thank you.” He responded. His eyes swayed to Baekhyun’s other hand and he caught a glimpse of something pink.

“What’s in the other hand?”

Baekhyun looked down at it, “Oh this?” He lifted it up and opened it for Kyungsoo to see. “Crystals. Do they look familiar?”

Kyungsoo nodded as he peeled the fruit. “Yeah, they’re rose quartz. Really common around this area. And all over the world really.”

Baekhyun pouted. It wasn’t exactly what he was hoping for, but he would take it.

“I had a classmate who was super into crystals and stuff like that. He told me that rose quartz symbolizes unconditional love. Plus, it’s pretty to look at.”

Baekhyun smiled as he nodded, “It is huh?”


	13. Chapter 13

“Minseok, what exactly are we looking for here?” Chanyeol asked as he stared down at the elder who was on his hands and knees.

“It’s our last day here, I need to find this guy’s journal.”

Chanyeol pouted as he furrowed his brows, “You think it’s still here?”

Jongin smiled as he leaned on Chanyeol’s shoulder. “Taemin told me they found it here the other day.”

Chanyeol grinned and interlaced his fingers in between Jongin’s. Jongin’s eyes went up to meet with Chanyeol’s. He snuggled a little more into him…

“Ok ok!” Minseok exclaimed as he stood to split the both of them up. He grabbed Jongin’s shoulder and pulled him away. His bottom lip was out in a small pout. “Jongin, help me look.”

Chanyeol chuckled and got on his hands on knees where Taemin was still digging. “You know, if we get caught like this we can get in a lot of trouble.”

“Yeah, IF we get caught.” Taemin replied.

Chanyeol scoffed and pressed his hands into the dirt. In all honesty, he wasn’t even sure what he was looking for. He just trusted that Minseok knew what he was talking about. Minseok and Jongin joined them after getting on their hands and knees.

“Minseok, are you sure it’s still here?” Taemin asked as they began to hear the professor calling them all in to eat. Taemin wanted to run to the benches and finish his meal quickly. The professor told them that he had a surprise for them after meal time.

Minseok bit his lip, “It has to be! Where else could it have—“

“What’s this?” Jongin questioned.

Everyone’s eyes turned to look at his puzzled expression. He was looking down at something in his hands. It was full of dirt and very worn. It was in the shape of a rectangle.

Minseok’s eyes widened and he stretched out to grab it from Jongin’s hands. He looked down at the old thing and felt his eyes swell up in tears.

“Minseok, is that—“

“It’s his journal…” Minseok replied as he gently tried prying it open. How did this war start? Who was the reason behind it? This notebook held all of the answers.

***

Kyungsoo looked up at the night sky above him. He had never seen so many stars before. This must have been what the people from Monalet saw every night. How he wished he could see it from their perspective. Their world must have been amazing! And even more amazing was how Minseok was able to find something in the ruins. The professor took it and gave it right away to the rangers. They would give the notebook to archeologists and historians to decipher it.

“Did you have fun?” Baekhyun asked as he sat next to him on the grass. The latter had been following him around ever since the day that they had seen where the princes of the past had gotten married. Kyungsoo didn’t mind, he liked being around Baekhyun.

“I did.” Kyungsoo responded.

“After this, we go home tomorrow.” Baekhyun said.

Kyungsoo nodded, “I’m so grateful I got to come.”

Baekhyun smiled, “Me too.”

From a little bit away, the rest of the friends watched as Baekhyun talked with Kyungsoo. They felt for him. They really did. They knew that this was killing him inside. But there was nothing they could do to force Kyungsoo’s memories back.

“So, why do you think the professor wants us to sit in this part of Monalet?” Kyungsoo questioned.

Baekhyun shrugged, “Who knows. I mean, he even made us bring our sleeping bags.”

Kyungsoo chuckled, “Sleeping out here isn’t too bad.”

Baekhyun nodded as he looked back at him. “Hey Kyungsoo?”

“Hm?”

“The professor said we could walk around right?”

“Yeah?”

“I wanted to see the fountain one last time. Can you come with me?”

Kyungsoo looked over at Baekhyun with a wide grin on his face. Baekhyun felt his heart skip a beat. Even in this life, his prince was still so handsome.

“Sure.” Kyungsoo replied.

Baekhyun stood up in glee and extended his hand for Kyungsoo to take. Kyungsoo eagerly took it to stand alongside him.

“We’re going to the fountain!” Baekhyun shouted happily as he turned to look at his friends.

“The fountain?” Minseok questioned.

Baekhyun nodded, “Yup!”

“We won’t be long.” Kyungsoo added as he placed his belongings next to them. “Watch these for me?”

Baekhyun bent down and placed his stuff down as well, “Watch mine too.”

Jongin took his arm and pulled him close. He leaned in and whispered, “Baekhyun, I know full well why you’re doing this.”

He looked over at Jongin who was giving him a scowl. Jongdae scooted in to whisper, “You’re only going to hurt yourself. Accept that you need to win him over without relying on the past.”

Baekhyun pulled away and sent them a glare. In a hushed whisper he replied, “I know what I’m doing.”

“No you don’t. You’re just—“

“Ready?” Kyungsoo questioned as he walked over to them.

Baekhyun straightened up and smiled, “Ready.”

The friends knew that this was a bad idea. But Baekhyun was set in his ways. He knew what he wanted and there was nothing that could get in his way. Nothing his friends said mattered to him right now.

“Let’s go.” Kyungsoo said as he turned around.

“Baekhyun,” Chanyeol called out sternly. He made one last attempt to get his friend to come back. But Baekhyun ignored him. He instead walked briskly behind Kyungsoo.

He caught up with the latter and walked next to him. They both walked in silence.

“What made you want to see the fountain?”

Baekhyun shrugged, “It’s just really nice.”

Kyungsoo grinned, “I agree.”

Baekhyun blushed and looked away. Kyungsoo was still able to make him feel so flustered. He wanted so badly to hold his hand, but all in good time.

They walked next to one another. Not really talking, just a couple of words here and there. Until they finally arrived to the fountain in the Monalet ruins. It was old and made of a strong clay material. How it managed to remain standing for so long was a mystery. It looked big and ancient, unlike when Baekhyun first saw it.

“I wonder what made them want to build a fountain.” Kyungsoo questioned as he looked it over.

Baekhyun shrugged, “Who knows, but they were brilliant.”

Kyungsoo nodded in response. He sat on the soft grass beneath them. He took Baekhyun’s hand and tugged it.

Baekhyun blinked and looked down at him. He was grinning from ear to ear and gesturing to the spot next to him. Baekhyun smiled and plopped himself onto the grass. His hand remained on top of Kyungsoo’s even after they sat. Their eyes were both looking upwards at the top of the fountain. Baekhyun licked his lips and let out a soft exhale. Kyungsoo was so beautiful. How would he be able to withstand his urges with him right there?

“Hey Baekhyun?”

“Hm?”

“I don’t know if this is strange to say but, I really trust you.”

Baekhyun looked over at him. Kyungsoo’s eyes were looking down at the grass and they slowly looked up to lock with Baekhyun’s.

“I like to be around you.” He said as he smiled.

Baekhyun sent him a small smile and nodded, “I feel the same way.”

Kyungsoo smiled that heart that Baekhyun fell for years ago. “You know, they say that Monalet royals used to confess their love for their beloved at this fountain.”

“Hm? Where did you read that?” Kyungsoo asked.

Baekhyun shrugged, “I’ve read so much about these kingdoms. It’s hard to keep track of where I read everything.”

Kyungsoo nodded, “I wouldn’t be surprised. The atmosphere around here is peaceful.”

Baekhyun licked his lips and the breeze began to caress him softly forward. Was this perhaps…a sign? Kyungsoo was so close to him. And this was the place that he had confessed to him. Maybe, Baekhyun could make him remember.

“Kyungsoo?”

“Yeah?”

Baekhyun swallowed and scooted in closer, “I really like you.”

Kyungsoo blinked in surprise, “Huh?”

“Like…a lot.”

Kyungsoo let out a nervous chuckle, “Baekhyun, what are you--?”

Baekhyun leaned in, shut his eyes and pressed their lips together. He had wanted this so bad. He couldn’t wait any longer. Baekhyun lifted up his hands and was about to wrap them around him, when all of a sudden…Kyungsoo shoved him away.

“What are you doing?!” Kyungsoo shouted angrily. He stood up and wiped at his mouth with his sleeve.

Baekhyun was on his back and was using his hands to steady himself. Kyungsoo had…rejected him. His eyes swelled up in tears and he looked down as he bit his lip.

“Baekhyun, I like you and I want to get you know you better but, what are you doing?!”

Baekhyun opened his mouth to speak. But words refused to come out. What had he done?

Kyungsoo sighed and looked away towards where they came from.

His friend were right. Kyungsoo was not going to remember. He had no choice but to accept that. Baekhyun swallowed the lump in his throat and forced the tears away. He cleared his throat and stood up, “You’re right.” He said as he dusted himself off. “I’m sorry. I read the atmosphere wrong.”

Kyungsoo backed away from him. Baekhyun felt another sting at his heart. He was such an idiot!

_Please Kyungsoo…you don’t have to remember but please…don’t avoid me._

“I’m really sorry.” Baekhyun said again. “I swear I won’t do it again.”

Kyungsoo let out a soft sigh, “I do like you Baekhyun. But you can’t just…force yourself on me like that.”

“You’re right. I was in the wrong. And I really am so sorry.”

Kyungsoo scoffed as he looked down, “We should get going.”

***

Baekhyun and Kyungsoo walked back towards their friends. They walked in silence next to one another. Kyungsoo had tried lightening up the mood. But Baekhyun felt so stupid. He was so selfish.

“What do you think the professor’s surprise is?”

“Huh?” Baekhyun began. “Oh, probably just like…I don’t know to be honest.”

Kyungsoo chuckled, “I can’t imagine either.”

Baekhyun laughed as he continued walking.

Kyungsoo stopped to look at him, “Baekhyun, you can stop feeling guilty. I already forgave you.”

Baekhyun twisted his mouth to the side. Kyungsoo punched his shoulder playfully. “It’s ok, really. I know you aren’t a bad person. I still trust you.”

Baekhyun sent him a small smile as he nodded. Kyungsoo was still the kindest person he knew.

“Can you smile for me?”

Baekhyun grinned wide, making his eyes go into crescents.

Kyungsoo chuckled, “Alright good.”

“Maybe the surprise is like extra credit or—“ Baekhyun didn’t get to finish his sentence. Because just then, a light in the sky got both of their attention. It started off with light blues in the sky and slowly began to change to different colors all at once.

Kyungsoo stared in awe at the aurora above them.

Baekhyun could do nothing but throw his head down as he buried his face into his hands.

“Wow! I read that Monalet was the best place to see auroras!” Kyungsoo exclaimed excitedly. This was his first time ever seeing one! Then, why did it feel like he had been here before? He tilted his head slowly as an image wanted to appear in his mind…

Baekhyun remembered that under an aurora was where Kyungsoo had confessed his love for him. It was where he proclaimed to the Moon God that Baekhyun was his. Baekhyun couldn’t face him, it was too painful.

“Baekhyun, isn’t this—“ Kyungsoo’s eyes widened as he looked over at Baekhyun. He had his hands over his face and seemed to be…crying?

“Baekhyun?” Kyungsoo questioned as he took Baekhyun’s hands into his.

“No!” Baekhyun shouted as he threw himself back. “Don’t—I’m fine really.”

“Then, why are you crying?” A sudden protectiveness swept over Kyungsoo. A feeling he had never felt before with anyone else.

Baekhyun sniffled and that was when Kyungsoo managed to grab Baekhyun’s hands and put them down. The latter’s eyes were red and he shook his head as he pulled away from Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo felt a sudden sting at Baekhyun’s rejection and he again went towards him. Seeing Baekhyun crying made Kyungsoo concerned…one could even say upset…upset?

Baekhyun’s crying face was engraved into his mind and then suddenly he remembered something else. A dream he had once. He was holding a black figure in his arms and the figure seemed to be in so much pain. He was never able to see a face to that figure…until now.

The figure from his dreams suddenly began to show itself in Kyungsoo’s head. It was…Baekhyun. The black figure that he loved from his dreams was…Baekhyun?! An image of Baekhyun smiling appeared in his mind. He was wearing clothes from a much different time and he uttered:

_I love you my prince._

That single phrase was all it took for the rest of the memories to return to him. He stayed motionless as images from his past all came at once. He remembered the day he was born and his countless adventures exploring the castle. He was from Monalet…he was its last prince.

He threw himself back as he blinked and held his head. Everything was happening so fast…memories were throwing themselves at a rapid pace. How could he keep up? Baekhyun was---Baekhyun! His mind suddenly snapped back into reality and his eyes opened wide as he looked ahead of him. Baekhyun stared at him, eyes wide and watery. His hands were down and his mouth slightly open.

Kyungsoo remembered everything. Baekhyun was his prince.

Kyungsoo straightened up and his eyes narrowed.

“Kyung—Kyungsoo?”

He had the same voice. How did he not recognize him before? And now it was Kyungsoo’s fault he was crying?!

“Baekhyun…I—“ Did Baekhyun remember? What could Kyungsoo say?

Baekhyun sniffled, “Kyungsoo, are you ok? You threw yourself back and I got worried.”

Just like Baekhyun, to worry more over him than himself. “Baekhyun, I’m sorry.” The latter was still so beautiful. He wanted to go to him and wipe away every tear. And then hold him in his arms and this time, he would never let him go. He took a step closer then another, Baekhyun flinched.

“I’m ok, really.” Baekhyun said as he took steps back. He walked back and didn’t notice a root that was sticking out of the grass. His foot got caught in it and then he felt himself falling backwards.

Kyungsoo was by his side in an instant. He grabbed Baekhyun’s hand and pulled him upwards, but Kyungsoo’s balance wasn’t exactly steady. He fell backwards and landed on his back. Baekhyun landed on top of him.

“Kyungsoo!” Baekhyun pushed himself up and looked Kyungsoo over. “Are you ok?”

Kyungsoo didn’t answer. He couldn’t take his eyes off of him. It was him…his prince.

“Kyungsoo, answer me!”

“You’re still so beautiful…” Kyungsoo said in a whisper.

Baekhyun’s eyes widened…could it be? He got off of Kyungsoo and stood up straight. Kyungsoo followed him right after.

Baekhyun placed some distance between them and asked, “Kyungsoo, do you remember?”

Kyungsoo responded, “You’re my prince Byun Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun’s eyes got watery again and he shook his head. “Listen Kyungsoo. I know that we promised to be together forever. But…that was a long time ago. I don’t expect you to—“

Kyungsoo furrowed his brows and walked towards him.

“To—I don’t expect anything from you, ok? We live whole new lives now and—“

Kyungsoo grabbed his shoulders. Baekhyun looked into his eyes.

“Say something damn it!” Baekhyun shouted.

Kyungsoo leaned in and kissed him. Something he thought he would never get to do again. How stupid he had been to reject him the first time. This person meant more to him than anything in this world. Baekhyun kissed him, holding nothing back.

When they parted, Kyungsoo pressed their foreheads together. “I was waiting for you my whole life. I vowed to love you in my past life and find you in this one. I swore to love you just as much if not more and I intend to keep that promise.”

Baekhyun leaned into Kyungsoo’s shoulder as he inhaled. His scent had changed a bit. But that didn’t matter. His prince remembered and that’s all he cared about.

“I’m so sorry.” Kyungsoo said as he took Baekhyun’s face in between his hands. He wiped at the tears that were in his eyes.

Baekhyun giggled, “It’s ok.” He said.

“This must have been torture for you. I hate myself for hurting you.”

Baekhyun shook his head as he took both his hands into his own. “Nothing is your fault. I love you so much. I care about nothing else but beginning where we left off.”

Kyungsoo pouted, “Baekhyun, there is something you should know…”

“Hm?”

“That day…when you...” he choked up and swallowed, “The arrow that shot you…that was—“

“Sh… That’s in the past. All we can do now is help tell the story of our past lives and make sure it’s accurate. We live a new life now.”

Kyungsoo sighed and put his head down. He had been an idiot. He had trusted the head knight back then and paid the ultimate price for it. Baekhyun took his chin and softly lifted it. “I missed you.” Baekhyun said.

Kyungsoo smiled, “The dreams make sense now. They were bringing me to you.”

Baekhyun nodded, “Yes.”

Kyungsoo bit his lip, “You know, if I could, I would make you mine right here right now.”

Baekhyun chuckled as he shoved him gently. “Hey, you need to wine and dine me first. Then we can talk about that.”

Kyungsoo laughed and nodded. “Alright, so our date is still on?”

Baekhyun nodded as he extended his hand and took Kyungsoo’s. “Of course it is. I met the one I want to be with, but he has to win me over first.” He ruffled Kyungsoo’s hair with the other hand. “You’re cute in glasses by the way.”

Kyungsoo blushed and looked away. “Quit it…”

***

“What do you think they’ll say?” Kyungsoo asked as they walked back to where all of their friends were. He was scared about his friend’s reaction. He wasn’t sure what they would say or do when they knew that he had remembered everything.

“They’ll be really happy.” Baekhyun said as he pressed himself into Kyungsoo. They walked side by side with their hands intertwined together. The aurora was still above their heads as it glowed brightly.

“You think?”

“I know.”

Once they got closer, their friends heads all turned. Kyungsoo could see how their eyes widened when they looked down at their hands. Did they perhaps figure out from far?

When the pair walked up to them, they looked away. But Kyungsoo caught them stealing glances.

“So, you guys are a thing…?” Chanyeol asked nervously.

Baekhyun giggled, “Not officially.” He answered.

Jongin looked up shyly and swallowed. “Um…Kyungsoo?”

“Yes Jongin?”

“Do you…um…?”

“Do I what?”

Kyungsoo could see how fidgety the younger was getting. It was amusing to watch and he wanted to bend down and ruffle his hair. They all looked at him with curious eyes and wondered the same thing. Should Kyungsoo tell them? Or should he stay quiet for a little while longer?

“Baekhyun?” Jongdae called out instead.

“Hm?”

“Does he…? You know…”

Baekhyun chuckled, “I don’t know…” He teased.

“Do I what?” Kyungsoo asked. “Remember that I was the Monalet prince?”

Their eyes widened at the same time and their mouths all dropped. 

Kyungsoo laughed and bent down to get to their level. “I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you all sooner.”

The first person he hugged was Jongin. His little brother from back then. The one that he had given a burial at sea to. He never thought that he would see him again. Jongin buried his face in his shoulder and snuggled into it.

Kyungsoo smiled and turned to face Minseok, “Those scrolls that lead us to where the wedding took place…those were you?”

Minseok nodded, “Yes. Me, Jongdae, and Sehun.”

Kyungsoo’s eyes softened and his brows did too. At least they had survived the tragedy. Thanks to them, their story was able to be told correctly.

Once he parted from Jongin, Minseok embraced him next. The elder let out a sigh as he fought back tears, “I missed you so much…”

Kyungsoo shook his head, “Our reunion shouldn’t be sad. I’m glad to be able to see you all again.”

He held everyone in his arms as he remembered the fond memories that each of them had shared. He was so thankful to be able to meet them again. Each one of them was precious to him. Each of them had suffered tremendously and now, they didn’t have to worry about having to hate each other. They could be and do whatever they wanted.

In a strange way…they ended up with a happy ending. 

“Wait, there is one thing that I want to say.” Jongin said once all of them were settled and seated next to one another.

“What is it?” Kyungsoo asked. Baekhyun sat next to him, with his hand on top of Kyungsoo’s.

He looked over at Minseok and punched his shoulder.

Minseok made a face and exclaimed, “Ow!” He rubbed at it and furrowed his brows, “What was that for?”

Jongin scoffed, “I owe Kyungsoo one too. That’s for lying to me about Chanyeol and taking me away with Taemin.”

They all laughed. The younger still held a grudge over it?

Sehun pouted, “If we are bringing up grudges from the past…” He looked over at Jongdae, “You didn’t let me sleep because of your snoring!”

Jongdae’s mouth dropped, “Wait what?”

Minseok giggled as he rubbed his arm, “You did snore sometimes.”

Jongdae shook his head, appalled at what was being said. Why was he suddenly getting attacked?

They all laughed and bonded even more than they thought they ever would. Who would have thought that they would have become so close in the next life as well?

Kyungsoo leaned back and placed his hand again into Baekhyun’s and squeezed. The latter looked over at him and smiled. Their eyes both said the same thing: I am never letting you go. You will forever be my world.

They all began yawning soon. The birds could be heard from somewhere in the distance as they were beginning to wake up. They all settled into their sleeping bag and bid each other good night. It was officially the last night of the field trip.

Kyungsoo placed his sleeping bag right next to Baekhyun’s. Baekhyun turned over to look at him, eyes barely open. “Good night. My prince.”

Kyungsoo scoffed and reached his hand out to brush Baekhyun’s hair out of his eyes. “Baekhyun, let me tell you a story to help you sleep.”

Baekhyun yawned and nodded. “Alright.”

Kyungsoo let out a soft sigh and began, “There once was a prince who was raised to annihilate the prince from the neighboring kingdom. But this prince was so foolish, he fell in love with him instead. He loved him more than the number of stars in the sky.”

“Falling in love with him, was the best accident of his life. You see, his beloved was brave, kind, funny, and most of all, the most caring individual anyone could ever meet. He always put others needs before his own.”

Baekhyun giggled, “Was he handsome?”

Kyungsoo chuckled as he gently rubbed Baekhyun’s temples, “He was like an angel in every way, on the outside and inside.”

Baekhyun smiled, “And the other prince was just as handsome.”

“This prince wanted nothing more than to show him off to the world. He wanted everyone to know that he belonged to him. But unfortunately, it didn’t happen. But the prince made a vow to love him forever.” Kyungsoo shut his eyes and pressed his lips to Baekhyun’s forehead. He kissed it softly and parted once more to look him in the eyes, “And he swears to keep that promise.”

Baekhyun smiled as he snuggled into his sleeping bag. “I’m still so in love with you…” He whispered.

Kyungsoo tucked him in and made sure he was comfortable. “Time to sleep my prince.”

***

The next day, they all packed their belongings onto the bus. It was time to leave to the airport.

Sehun and Taemin got inside first. They took the seats at the very back of the bus. “It was nice coming back.” Sehun said as he settled himself.

Taemin nodded. He had finally been able to get closure from something he was unable to receive in the past. Although it was an answer that pained him. He preferred seeing Sehun happy. “Me too.” Taemin replied.

Jongdae and Minseok sat in front of them and looked over. “Sehun, we’re going to be more protective over you now. You know that right?” Jongdae questioned.

Sehun giggled “I know and I’m going to be more protective of you guys too.”

Jongdae and Minseok both settled in their seats in front and sighed, “This is crazy.”

Jongdae nodded, “I didn’t expect this from the field trip.”

Minseok shook his head, “Neither did I. Hey Jongdae?”

“Hm?”

“I never told you this, but I always considered you my best friend.” He looked over at him, “Back then and now.”

Jongdae smiled and nodded, “I considered you my best friend too.”

Minseok grinned and looked back ahead.

Chanyeol walked into the bus and stopped at the steps when Jongin stumbled to get in. “Be careful.” Chanyeol told him as he picked him up.

Jongin blushed and shoved him away when he realized that Minseok was watching, “I can take care of myself…”

Chanyeol chuckled, “Still the same huh? It’s alright.”

Jongin looked up at him. How had he been so lucky to have this amazing person love him?

“I’ll always be there to protect you. I guarded you with my life before, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

Jongin smiled and shoved him playfully. “I love you.” He whispered.

Chanyeol grinned wide and they both made their way into the bus.

Baekhyun and Kyungsoo walked towards the bus next to one another. Ever since Kyungsoo had remembered, he refused to go anywhere if it wasn’t with Baekhyun.

“Do you think you’ll miss this place?” Baekhyun asked.

Kyungsoo pondered the question as he twisted his mouth to the side. It was still just as beautiful as he had remembered. And there was still so many things that needed to be discovered. But truthfully, he had a new life now. The only thing he would want to bring back from his past life into his new one was standing right next to him.

“No.” he replied as he held Baekhyun’s hand. “I have you.”

Baekhyun smiled as he looked down and let Kyungsoo guide him. He would unravel all of the secrets of Monalet and Solaris to show them to the world. He wanted the culture of both kingdoms to be known and preserved. But he didn’t want to be known as the prince of Solaris. He wanted to be known as the architect that found all of the secrets within these ruins.

They both took one last look back. They would be back, but not as the princes. They would return as normal people. They got a second chance to start a new life with each other. And they were not going to let the past dictate what they would do in the present.

“Alright guys! Into the bus!” The professor called out.

When they sat on the bus, the engine began and it was soon driving away.

“Oh!” Baekhyun said as he reached into his pocket. “There is something I forgot to give you.”

Kyungsoo scoffed, “Chocolate?”

Baekhyun shook his head as he extended his hand and opened it from the fist it was in. “No.”

Inside the hand, was a pink crystal, rose quartz to be exact. Kyungsoo’s eyes widened. He recognized it immediately.

“You didn’t recognize it before.”

Kyungsoo shook his head slowly. He hadn’t, but now, it would become one of his most cherished possessions. He took it into his hands and smiled down at it.

Baekhyun opened up his other hand to show Kyungsoo the other crystal, “This one’s mine.”

Kyungsoo nodded. That was the one he had given him long ago.

They both looked into each other’s eyes and grinned wide. They straightened up and Baekhyun leaned into him, with his hand holding the crystal tightly. Kyungsoo let out a sigh as he placed the crystal into his pocket and zipped it up so there was no risk of it falling out. Their backs were towards the ruins, their past was officially behind them. Their new life with one another was just beginning. 

***

(1 Year Later)

The lights dimmed and one bright light shined to illuminate the couple that danced in the center of the venue. A thousand years played through the speakers as the couple swayed to it. They had chosen it themselves, only a few people here could understand fully why.

Baekhyun pressed himself into Kyungsoo and smiled wide when Kyungsoo pulled him in close. His husband was still the spitting image of the handsome prince that he had fallen in love with. And now he was his husband once again.

“You look like an angel.” Kyungsoo whispered.

Baekhyun giggled, “So do you.”

The slow song played behind them and they listened to it faintly, but they couldn’t take their eyes off of each other. It was as if the world had ceased to exist and the only ones that mattered right now were the ones standing in front of them, each other.

Baekhyun sighed and leaned his head on Kyungsoo’s shoulder and shut his eyes. Kyungsoo giggled and pressed him closer. He was lucky to be able to call this angel his.

Once the lights began to brighten and the song was over, they leaned in and kissed one another again.

A loud cheer was heard from all around them and they parted quickly. Kyungsoo was never one for public displays of affection.

They laughed and turned to face the crowd, “The dance begins now!” Baekhyun exclaimed.

Everyone got off from their seat and began to dance as an upbeat song began to play from the speakers. Everyone rejoiced and was having an overall good time at their wedding.

“Hey, dance with us.” Jongin said as he patted Kyungsoo’s shoulder. Chanyeol was next to him on the dance floor, moving his hips (or at least trying to).

“In a bit.” Kyungsoo replied as he slid his hand into Baekyhun’s. “I’m just going to get some water first.”

Jongin nodded and pulled his hand away. Chanyeol took it and they pressed foreheads as they began to dance, the light above them made their engagements rings glisten.

The grooms maneuvered their way through the crowd to where the drinks were. They felt a pat on their shoulder and they turned to look. Both their parents were dancing next to each other with a big grin on their faces. They waved at them and gave them a thumbs ups.

Baekhyun and Kyungsoo laughed but hugged them nonetheless.

“How does it feel to be accepted by them this time?” Baekhyun asked when they were further away from them.

“Same way it feels for you.” Kyungsoo replied.

It felt amazing for them to be accepted this time. Their parents did not get their memory back and they were very happy for that.

“Two waters please.” Kyungsoo said as he ordered at the bar. The man gave them both water bottles. Kyungsoo took a big gulp. Baekhyun giggled and wiped at some sweat that had accumulated on his forehead. Kyungsoo smiled at him, cheeks full of water.

“Excuse me? We want water too.” A teasing voice told them.

They turned to see Sehun with a big grin on his face.

“Oh, sorry.” Baekhyun replied back sarcastically.

Sehun giggled, “I’m kidding. Nice song choice by the way, for your first dance together.”

Kyungsoo nodded, “It has…a lot of significance.”

“I bet it does.” Sehun’s date said from next to him. “It must be nice to be able to be together in this lifetime.”

Their eyes swayed to Jaebum and Baekhyun nodded. “Of course. But, you already know the feeling.”

Jaebum grinned wide and slipped his hand into Sehun’s. “I do.”

Jaebum had gotten his memory back about a month after they had arrived back from their field trip a year ago. He had asked Sehun on a date once he realized that Sehun remembered too.

Sehun leaned into him and smiled.

It was nice to see Sehun so happy. He didn’t show it before, but he did suffer a lot due to the fact their social class had kept them apart. Now, they were both equal in status and nothing could keep them apart.

“We promised Jongin to dance with him. Meet us there.” Baekhyun said as he pulled on Sehun’s sleeve.

“Alright, I’ll just get us some water bottles. Ask Minseok, Jongdae, and Taemin to come too.”

Baekhyun and Kyungsoo realized that was a great idea! They made their way towards the table where their friends sat. They were all eating cake.

“Guys! Let’s go dance!” Baekhyun said as he grabbed Jongdae’s wrist and pulled.

“Hey! I’m eating!” Jongdae whined.

“You can eat when we get back!” Baekhyun exclaimed. “Listen to me!”

“Get over yourself! You aren’t a prince anymore!”

Kyungsoo laughed hard at the remark and Minseok stood to stand next to Kyungsoo. “Come on Jongdae, it’ll be fun.”

He grabbed Kyungsoo’s hand and led him away to the dance floor. Taemin stood up and grabbed Jongdae to help Baekhyun lift him up.

“If we work together, then we can make him go.” Taemin said as he pulled.

Jongdae sighed and stood up, “You guys are impossible.”

Baekhyun and Taemin laughed together. They had gotten their way and that’s all that mattered. The three of them went over to join their friends who had started a circle.

Sehun and Jaebum joined seconds later.

Like this, one would never guess that at one point, they hated each other with all of the force in the world. But life had given them a second chance and now they could live normally. They didn’t have to worry over what others said. Now, they could be completely happy without a worry in the world.

~The End~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is officially the end to this story :) I hope you enjoyed! I had a great time writing the first part and the sequel to it :)   
> Thank you for reading :)


End file.
